Humans VS Titans: Volume 1
by Storm-Anime-FFWriter
Summary: AU. The world inside the walls of Trost are raided by Titans. Humanity is struggling for survival. Will they be able to overcome the Titans? [COMPLETE!] See Volume 2 NOW!
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ATTACK ON TITAN/ SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: March 22, 2016- Tuesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

Other things you need to take note of; Here, the _Titans_ aren't some giants that goes wild mindlessly Okay some have intelligence, some doesn't. The Titans are humans that turned cannibals. Their origin is unknown (I'll leave that as a mystery for now). Like a zombie apocalypse, if they bit you, you'll end up as one of them anytime soon. Other information about the titans will be further explained in the story. _Wall Maria, Sina, Rose_ are layers of the city of _Trost_. The _Garrison_ are those in charge of the protection of the walls, keeping the walls and borders secured and looking out for Titans. The _Military_ Police is in charge of the protection of the inner city and enforce balance and order. _Survey Corps_ are the scouts that leave to scavenge supplies, kill Titans and save survivors if encounters one. _Shiganshina_ is a town in Trost where Eren Jaeger lives.

Also, I don't ship anyone.. sort of. I guess I'll see as the story goes. I separated Mikasa and Eren so in case there's a ErenXMikasa shipping, I can comply.

Summary: AU. The world inside the walls of Trost are raided by Titans. Humanity is struggling for survival. Will they be able to overcome the Titans?

 **PROLOGUE:  
** In the town of Shiganshina, people lived in lesser fear than other towns. Because unlike other towns, they weren't attacked by Titans for ten straight years. There wasn't any raids or wall assaults. There weren't any Titans coming near the walls. If there were any Titans spotted nearby, that's all there is to it. They're near but not coming.

A rule is established that when a Titan or more are near, they are to keep quiet. As quiet as they can until the coast was clear. But most of the time they'd keep quiet, for safety of not attracting any unwanted attention. Keeping a low profile was their goal. And they survived following those rules.

Among the citizens of Shiganshina is the Grisha Jaeger, his wife Karla Jaeger and his son Eren Jaeger. The Jaeger family are known to have helped many citizens before and now. They are respected and looked upon.

"Eren! Eren!" Armin yelled from afar.

Armin Arlelt, Eren's best friend. The other kids would bully him because he's fragile and his mind was different from others. He'd think differently from others and he's exceptionally smart in a lot of things and even has knowledge of the outside world. Some are jealous of him but some said he was making it up. The outside world is what Eren and Armin had always talked about other than the Titans and their raids.

They want to see the outside world.

"What is it, Armin?" Eren asked after picking up a white shirt from the basket. He was helping his mother hang the launry.

"The Garrison opened the gates! The Survey Corps had arrived with survivors!"

"Really?" Eren's eyes sparked. Karla let out a smile as she took the shirt from Eren's hands.

"Yeah." He nodded. "They've got more kids than adults though."

"More kids? But, the orphanage is already full. They can't accept more kids."

"They're going to be transferred into another town, I suppose." Eren's mother interjected. "They'll be taken into the inner walls and find them a suitable place to live in until they grow."

"But.. that would mean that they'd be separated from their family and friends." Eren stated sadly.

"I'm sure they'll try not to separate those who are siblings."

Eren and Armin had this sad look in their faces. They spaced out for a while, thinking. Karla knew exactly what bothered them.

"I'm sure that's not the case. It's just a rumor I heard anyways." She added.

"I guess so." Eren muttered. "Anyways, Mom, can I go with Armin to meet the new kids?"

"Of course." Eren jumped in joy at her approval. And almost immediately, he and Armin ran towards the direction where Armin came.

"I'll be back before dinner!" he waved at her.

"Be careful!" his mother waved back at him. She watched him disappear from her sight before continuing with her laundry.

The two boys ran a distance before turning into a corner and there they see Hannes. Hannes was a member of the Garrison. He'd slack off at times, going off with his friends and drinking but there are also times that he's very responsible.

"Good morning, Hannes-san!" the boys greeted.

"Ah, Eren, Armin, it's good to see you up early. You two didn't go to school today?" he asked.

"Well.. school let us out early." Eren lied.

"Hannes-san, can we meet the new brought-ins?" Armin asked. Hanes grinned, figuring out why the two boys were present.

"So you skipped classes for this, huh?" he chuckled.

"There aren't much kids that we got to know." Eren said, scratching his cheek lightly. "Plus we want to see if there's anyone we recognize."

"As if there's one." He highly doubts it.

"Please." The two begged.

"Alright fine. They're at the Guest Hall. The Survey Corps left them as soon as they got here. It was as if they were in a hurry."

"Do you think there's more?" Eren asked. "More survivors out there? That's why the Survey Corps were on a rush?"

Hannes thought about the words he'd say. Answering the boy's question will forever be a mark in him. He'll remember it well, so he had to answer well.

"Well.." he started. "..probably. We never know until we're out there. But for now, we can just be good citizens. Go back home after this okay? The Garrison will have more work to do. Especially concerning those brought-ins."

"Yes sir!" the two agreed to his terms. Of course he didn't have a choice but to comply.

He led them to the Guest Hall located near the walls. It's similar to an evacuation center. It's where all the survivors were taken for shelter and hopefully, recover from their trauma. They've been outside the walls, and for all they know, their experience was far worse than others. They've seen deaths, blood and the Titans. Some wouldn't speak. Some wouldn't move. Some were still shaking in fear. Some couldn't get over the trauma. Some were all of the above.

The Guest Hall was guarded by a few Garrisons until the Military escorts have arrived. When they entered, Eren and Armin saw the number of kids crying in corners and on the floor. There were a few adults, mostly women, very few men. There are also villagers from their town that came by to help them recover.

"T..This is.." Eren didn't know how to describe it. He's seen people suffer before. From a disease. But suffer from Titans.. it's a different story.

"Eren." The boy felt a palm on his shoulder and he looked up at Hannes. "The world is full sufferings. Not just our town. All these people.. none of them deserved this yet it still happened to them."

"But why?"

Not even Hannes could answer it. He kept silent as he observed the crowd before him.

"Eren, do you still want to talk to them? It's okay if we leave now." Armin said. He's worried of Eren and scared of the crowd. He's afraid that someday it will happen to him. Happen to them.

"These people.. they need our help." Eren told his blonde friend.

"But what can we do?"

"We can try and make them smile again."

"After everything that happened to them?" Armin asked.

"Humanity must not lose hope. And we can start with bringing smiles on their faces."

"You're right." He nodded in agreement. "But how do we start?"

"Uh.. I'm not quite sure about that." Eren said sheepishly and Armin sighed.

"Let's see what I can come up with."

The boys ran towards a certain room and Hannes smiled at them. He doesn't have a son or a family but he knows how it feels to have one. Because he treats these boys as his son. He treats everyone in the town as his family. Someone he needs and swore to protect.

Armin stood in the center later on. He was carrying a ball with him. All of the kids stared at him in wonder. Probably having one question in their mind. 'What is he holding?' for some 'What is he doing?'. Deep inside he was nervous. Getting too much attention is not one of the things that he wants to do. But he gulped all those fears and did what he had to do.

The ball bounced and he dribbled it. He tried doing tricks and it accidentally bounced off, rolling towards a certain child he stared at the ball in wonder.

"Oh sorry about that." Armin said as he approached the child.

"Can I.. can I play with you?" the boy asked as he looked up at Armin.

"Sure." Armin saw the bright smile in the boy's face and looks down on the ball. Armin gladly picked it up and handed it to him. He noticed the rest of the kids' attention were locked on them, also having the urge to ask them if they could join. "Do you guys want to come and play too?"

He wasn't sure if they would say yes.

He wasn't sure if they would just forget everything in an instance.

He wasn't sure if it was easy to overcome their fears.

But in his surprise.. one child stood up from a corner.

"I want to play!" he announced. And everyone exchanged looks, as if waiting for others to say the same before they come and join. Until another child approached Armin.

"Me too!"

"I want to try too!"

"Please let me try!"

When the kids were all up and ready to play. The adults and villagers present couldn't help but smile in delight. It hurts to see children suffer for something they are innocent about. But now that they're happy again, it's a pleasing sight.

Armin played with the kids along with Eren, everyone was laughing and having fun. The ball was the entire key to everything.

Armin got tired and let the kids play out on their own. He sat in a corner, panting. And that was when he noticed there was one blonde who wasn't mingling with the others. One small blonde who was at the corner.

"Hey." He tried to start a conversation. "Don't you want to play?" but the girl only glanced at him, not responding at all. "I'm Armin." He thought maybe getting to know each other by name is the first step of friendship. The girl stared her blue eyes at him, still not saying anything. "Are you not into these things?" still.. there was silence. He sighed. Maybe she's one of those who have been through too much and chose not to mingle with others to sulk. He decided to just share stories about himself. He looked back at the children who are still playing. "I'm honestly not into it too. They say I'm too fragile to join and play sports. So I would usually just sit at home and read books."

"That must be really boring."

His eyes shot back to the blonde. She spoke! He must've got her attention somehow. It was a good start. He decided to keep going.

"Not entirely. I mean- I love to read books." He told her.

"Why?" the girl asked. A hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"II learn from it. It tells me things that I don't know about." He explained in veneration.

"Not everything in books are reliable." The girl countered. "Some of it are lies created by humans. Since we live in a cruel world filled with enemies we can't beat, flocking us like herds in a prison, humans created an illusion for themselves."

Armin kept silent for a while. The girl before him had her own beliefs. She was different from others just as he was different. It felt relieving that he wasn't alone.

"M- Must be right." He stuttered. "But one of the books I read is made by my grandfather. I'm sure it's all based on his experience and adventures. He's been through the outside world."

"He must've created an illusion of his own then."

"What are you saying? My grandfather would never lie." He was glad that someone was different like he is, but she was something else. There some something in her that makes her stand out from the others and without even anyone noticing her presence.

"Just because he's your grandfather, doesn't mean he wouldn't lie. In the real world—the outside world, those who are close to you are the ones that lie to you."

"What are you saying?"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Visiting hours was up. Hannes and the rest of the Garrison had clashed pots and spatulas to catch everyone's attention.

"Visiting hours are over! Everyone out! It's time to go!" the Garrison would say repeatedly.

Armin stared at them before looking back at the girl. He was still wondering.. what have she been through that she was able to think like this? That she turned out to be this way? She was a mystery that Armin was so intrigued about.

"You should go." The girl told him. She knew that Armin had more to say.

"Will I ever see you again?" was all that matters right now.

"I don't really have anywhere to go, do I?"

"I- I guess so."

"Armin!" Eren called out. He was looking for his friend. "Armin, come on let's go!"

"Your cue." The girl told him and he forces a smile.

"Y- Yeah." He got to his feet but still his eyes were locked on the girl's. "What's your name?"

Stare.

"Armin, let's go!" Eren said, arriving at the scene. "Hannes will escort us home."

"Right."

Eren noticed that there was something going on between Armin and the girl. It was as if they've talked about something serious before they came.

"Hey there." Eren greeted. "I didn't see you play earlier. Didn't want to sweat on a game?"

"Not interested in playing one." She replied.

"Any friends around?"

"They're not here."

"Are they still alive?"

"I hope so."

Armin noticed that every time Eren tries to strike up a conversation, she'd end it with a period. Like she doesn't want to talk about it. And she'd also answer vaguely. Like everything about her is kept a secret. Why so?

"You boys, come on, it's time to go." Hannes said when he found them. "These kids have to rest too."

"Will they still be here by tomorrow?" Armin asked. Hannes noticed that something was up with Armin that moment.

"Yeah."

"Let's just go back tomorrow." Eren told him. Armin nodded and left with Hannes.

He turned back to the girl, to see her one more time.

Who was she? He forgot to ask. He smiled at her before turning away and exited the hall. The girl remained emotionless about the matter and sighed. She looked down on the floor, her fists tightening in anger.

"I will kill you.. all of you." She muttered to herself.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

How is it? I hope it's great. I tried not to make the prologue short but it ended up that way. So yeah..

So guys, for those who knows me, welcome the newest fic in the family! My very first Attack on Titan/Shingeki No Kyojin fic! I hope you guys enjoy just as you you enjoyed the others just as I enjoyed writing! If we convert that in a mathematical equation it'll be like a=b=c. *laughs* No need for mathematical equations.

See you in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter I: The Last Day We Saw Smiles

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ATTACK ON TITAN/ SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: March 27, 2016- Sunday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

It's kinda slow-paced isn't it? *nervous chuckle* Sorry about that. I'll try to speed things up but at the same time stick with the character development. I've read some complaints about the characters that dying did not have much screen-time or lacks character development then dies. Which is why there wasn't much emotional effect on viewers. Which is why I will try not to commit that mistake.

WARNING! This chapter contains violence and blood! Viewers Discretion Advised!

 **Ultimate Boredom:** Thank you for your review! You're the first! Hope you like it as it goes!

Read on!

 **CHAPTER ONE: THE LAST DAY WE SAW SMILES**

Eren was half-sleep when he heard the door creaking open. He fell asleep last night. He's been waiting for his father to come home. But hearing the door downstairs open just now.. it means he just got home.

"Dad!"

He got up from bed and ran downstairs to greet his dad. He was carrying to briefcases with him. He placed them down so that he could catch his son that was running towards him. He caught Eren and lifted him up before hugging him.

"I missed you!"

"I missed you too!" Grisha placed Eren down when he saw his wife walking from the kitchen. "Did you take care of the house and your mom for me?" he whispered to his son.

"Yeah." Eren whispered back, smiling.

"Good boy." He kissed Eren's forehead before standing straight and greeting his wife with a kiss on the lips and an embrace.

"It's good to have you back, Grisha." She greeted. "How's work?"

When the couple parted from their embrace, Grisha sat in the dining table and Eren followed, sitting beside him.

"Still no cure for those who are infected." Grisha sighed as he reported. "But I've discovered new herbs that I could probably use for the allergies running in town." He added as he reached for the plate and prepare himself a meal. Eren assisted him.

"Armin's neighbor has those allergies. It was scary." Eren commented.

"Really? What's it like to see it?" Grisha asked. While Karla was serving the two of them some food she just cooked.

"They had red spots in their skin! Even their face!" Eren said, shivering at the thought of it.

"You didn't catch any of it, did you?"

"Absolutely not! I have a strong immune system!" Eren said with pride and Grisha chuckled.

"That's my boy!"

When Karla was done serving them and herself, she sat down to her seat, facing her husband. She had a smile on her face as she brought up a new topic.

"Eren helped the brought-ins yesterday. The Garrisons were proud of him."

"Really?" Grisha pretended not to believe as he turned to his son, refraining from smiling yet.

"Yeah. Armin and I brought the ball you bought us last year."

"Ooh. Were you able to play it with the other kids?"

"We shared it."

"That's nice."

"Yeah. The kids weren't so bad once they were all smiling."

Grisha chuckled as he patted his son in the head and ruffled his hair. He couldn't be more proud of him. He was sure that Karla felt the same. They were proud of their son.

"What about you Karla, anything new?" he said, shifting his attention to his lovely wife.

"Not much." She shrugged.

"Mom assisted in cooking food for the brought-ins." Eren said.

"Oh, they must love your cooking then?"

"A lot!" Eren added and Karla chuckled.

"I'm sure they loved it."

"What about you Dad? What do you have for us?" Eren asked. His eyes were excited and filled with joy.

"Well.." his eyes played for a while, darting in many different places before looking back at Eren. "..I got you this scarf." He pointed at the red scarf he was wearing.

"You're wearing it." Eren whined.

"Of course! I want you to see how good it looks on dad! Then it must mean it also looks good on you!" he tried to manipulate since he really brought nothing.

Eren fell for his trap and reached for the scarf. Grisha wrapped it around his neck and Eren gleefully hugged the soft fabric.

"Anyway, I have another trip coming up." Grisha inserted. Hoping it was the perfect timing to bring it up.

"Again?" Eren sounded disappointed he's leaving again.

"I'd be going with the Survey Corps this time." Grisha bragged. He knew how much Eren admired the Survey Corps. "They found this village that we could scavenge. But it wasn't like any other villages they've scavenged before. It was filled with survivors and most probably equipment and other supplies. They need me to treat the survivors."

"Can I come?"

"Not really an option." He chuckled.

"When will you be back then?" Karla asked.

"One month max. But if things got easier for us, I'll be here in weeks." He sounded hopeful.

"When you get back, I'd be big already! Then next time I'll be with you on your adventures!" Eren announced and his parents laughed.

"I'm sure you'd grow up just fine." Eren's father patted him again. Karla could only smile in joy. "I'll be off now. I just came by to give you gifts and pack my things."

"I love you Dad."

"I love you too, son."

A moment that Eren wished would never end.

Eren volunteered to escort his father towards the walls. Or more like tag along with him as they go there. He wanted to see the Survey Corps. Karla stayed behind, the usual.

When they got to the walls, Hannes met up with them, along with few of the other Garrisons.

"Another quiet morning I assume." Grisha greeted.

"Yep. I just hope it goes on like this forever." Hannes said, dreamily.

"I hope so too, Hannes." He laughed. "Anyway, take care of my boy for me, alright?"

"It's more like he's the one taking care of us, Grisha." Hannes joked.

"I'm sure he is."

Eren watched as his father was escorted by the Survey Corps, riding horses as they exited the walls. He didn't recognize the faces of the Survey Corps, probably new recruits. But one day.. one day he dreamed that he'd be one of them, saving people and fighting off Titans.

That's his dream.

On his way back, he meets up with Armin who seemed lost. He was staring off at some distance that he didn't notice Eren walking closer to him.

"Hey Armin, what's wrong?" Armin was startled, almost jumping back and Eren laughed. "Hiding again?"

"Uh no. I was actually looking for Hannes-san." Armin said.

"Hmm? Why?"

"About what your mom said. About the brought-ins. They will be taken by the Military Police, right?"

"Oh it's that girl again!" Eren hit the bullseye.

"I- It's not what you think!" Armin panicked and Eren laughed.

"It was a lucky guess." He teased. "Why are you even looking for her? No wait, thinking about her?"

"Uhm.. I don't know."

"Is this true? Armin Arlelt doesn't know?!"

When Armin didn't respond in a way Eren thought he would, he figured that he was serious about this. So Eren had to change his mood too.

"There's something about her that bothers me, that's all." Was all Armin could say.

"Alright then. Let's go together!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I just saw Hannes-san earlier when I escorted Dad to the walls."

But just about the two were running towards the wall, they halted when they saw a Garrison guard from the wall who fell from the top. His neck was severed by something sharp but at the same time blunt. They froze as they saw the sight of it. The first time they saw it. Death. Murder.

They looked up and saw Garrisons fighting off familiar figures. They were also humans but.. there some something about them that differentiates them from humans. Something that forms the disparity between them…

"TITANS!" yelled a Garrison from above. "THEY'RE HERE!"

All passerbys and Garrisons nearby heard it and sounded the alarm. DING! DING! DING! The towers sounds the alarm. DING! DING! DING!

The two boys froze in place. Terror had seized them.

Blood was dripping from the mouths of the Titans and both the dried and fresh blood was all over their body and clothes. They all had menacing smiles in their faces as they killed the humans they fought. They use their bare hands to fight. And once a Garrison was knocked down by a Titan, he ends up a meal.

They witnessed as another Garrison on top of the wall was screaming in pain as the Titan on top of him started to bite on his shoulder. Chewing even.

The Titans teeth were sharper and denser than a normal human's teeth. Their eyes looked as if they were only staring into one place. Their target. Their food. It was as if they were mindless as they do their raids but surely they're not as mindless as everyone would think. They have blunt fingernails, covered in coagulated blood from their past kills and they were all bare-footed.

 _So this is… these are…_ _these are Titans?!_

Eren had never seen or encountered one before. But now that he's seen one right before his eyes. He felt his whole body trembling, his legs choosing not to move, his mouth agape as his eyes were locked on them. In fear.

He never knew that Titans could scare him like this. Just as they've scared others.

Armin felt the same. He couldn't move as well. His fingers would twitch as he forced himself to move but that was all he could do. His feet were stuck from where it was stepping on. He was scared. Scared to the point that he wished he wasn't standing there to see everything. Everything cruel.

 _We live in a cruel world._

That's what the girl had told him. She spoke as if she's been from the outside world. But has she really been there? Is Titans the only thing waiting for them in the outside world?

 _I don't want this.. I don't want this..!_

While the two boys were stuck in thought, they failed to notice that a Titan jumped from the wall towards them. He stepped on the dead Garrison before them, drooling as he walked towards the boys. He didn't say a word but he lets out growling sounds as he stretched his hand towards them, wanting to reach them.

Eren and Armin's eyes widened in fear.

 _He's coming!_

They thought. Yet their bodies refused to move. Was it the end of them? Was it how it ends? Eren couldn't let it happen. He told his father he'd join the Survey Corps. He promised his mother he'd be home. He promised them he'd grow and help save people and kill Titans.. he promised himself..

The biggest act Eren could do was swat the Titan's hand away from Armin. Since the Titan was reaching for Armin. Armin snapped back to reality, feeling that he's able to control his own body again at last. He looks at Eren in awe. He could move. He even had the guts to touch a Titan, stare at him with brave eyes.

"Leave my friend alone!" Eren shouted at the Titan.

The Titan wasn't affected by it. It just turned its attention on Eren, reaching his arm to grab him instead. This time Eren was planning to tackle him but at the same time his body was shaking in fear. Armin admired Eren's bravery but he wanted to say that they just run. Run for their lives.

SHWING!

Hannes cuts the arm off, the blood dripping out of the Titan's cut-off arm. The Titan screamed but didn't scream for long because Hannes cuts his head next. Titans has the ability to regenerate. The only way to kill them was to…

He plunged his sword at the brain of the head he cut off and looked back at the boys with a worried look. His 'sons' were in danger. They were almost killed.

"What are you two doing here?! It isn't safe here!"

"H- Hannes-san.. we.." Eren could barely speak. The shock was present. Not only did they see Titans kill humans but they saw humans kill Titans. Right there.

He sighed. Hannes couldn't bring himself to be mad at them for long.

"Come on, let's take you home." He told them.

"But what about my father? H- he.. He went out earlier.." Eren remembered it wasn't long ago that his father left with the Survey Corps.

"He'll be fine."

"But—"

"You'll meet with him in the inner city. You'll be evacuated there." He didn't want to waste anymore time. He can explain later. "Come on!"

As he led the kids back to their houses, Armin found his house burning. A group of Titans gruesomely eating his neighbor who was right outside their house. Armin turned to another side to look away from the scene but it was all the same. Titans were still eating humans.

The Titans on the other side were eating the bullies who bullied Armin a lot. He hated them but he didn't want them to die like this. In the hands of such creatures.

"Armin." Eren pulled Armin away from the sight.

"Come on, we can't be seen." Hannes told them. And Armin hesitantly followed them.

As they run back towards Eren's house, Eren hears a scream from nearby.

"That came from one of Mom's friends!" Eren exclaimed.

"We don't have time to save everyone." Hannes told him. Prioritizing Eren and Armin's lives.

"But that's _your_ job isn't it?! To protect everyone!" Eren reminded him and Hannes was out of words.

Armin was afraid, he couldn't do anything but follow. He didn't want to separate from them. But trying to be a Survey Corps to risk lives and save others.. Armin wasn't sure he could do that.

Hannes instructed the kids to hide in a corner, where fallen debris hides their presence. He killed the standing Titan nearby and checks the house where the scream was from. There were a few CLINGS and CLANGS from inside as a battle went on.

Eren was nervous. He needed to get home too. He needed to get to his mother. But chances of his mother being in this house was also present. She has a schedule to be here anyways. While he was playing with his hands, he spotted a girl with black hair wearing a white nightgown came running out of the house next door.

He saw a Titan tailing her. He got worried. He picked up a shard from the broken debris and ran after her. Armin didn't realize he left until he heard loud footsteps fading from behind.

"Eren!" He called to his friend but he was ignored. He kept his screams to himself, afraid to attract any attention. He was afraid. There was no one to protect him. He didn't want to die.

The brave Jaeger boy attacked the Titan from behind before it could touch the girl. Just as he saw Hannes did earlier. He slashed the shard in its neck as soon as it fell on the ground, landing on its chest. Eren was on top of him from behind and slashes on its neck hard and rough, dried and sticky blood dropped down from it.

The girl stared at Eren, afraid of both him and the Titan.

Eren wasn't aware of the wound regenerating. But he was smart enough to know that seeing the wound close up again was a sign of restoration. He stabbed the shard in the Titan's head and the healing stopped.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. The girl nodded but her eyes kept looking at the Titan. Eren followed her gaze and taps the Titan. "He's dead, see?"

"Thank you." The girl said.

He smiled knowing he'd saved a life. He stood up and stretched his hand towards her. The girl stared at him for a while, hesitant about touching him.

"I'm Eren." He said with a smile.

"Mikasa."

"It's a pleasure meeting you Mikasa."

The two walked back to where Hannes was, which is not so far, but when they got there, Mikasa's eyes widened as she saw a familiar woman attacking Hannes. Hannes struck the woman down effortlessly. Mikasa screamed and ran towards them.

"NOO!" she yelled and Hannes was startled by her cries. "How could you?!"

"She's turned." Hannes explained. Realizing that it's probably her mother. Then he eyes Eren. "You didn't stay in place, did you?"

"Oops." He smiled innocently. Hannes was about to let him slip but he saw Eren's bloody hands and sleeve.

"You.." killed a Titan? Was what he was supposed to say but he stopped without him realizing it. "We need to go."

Hannes had a terrible feeling about it. Shiganshina was no longer a safe place to be. If the Titans got as far as their location, then surely many of the Garrisons failed to hold them down until reinforcements arrive.

Of if reinforcements were really coming.

They ran back home but did not find Karla. Eren was worried. He ran in and out of the house, checking every inch, every room just to find her. Armin was quiet. Still in shock. But he glanced at Eren every now and then. He admired Eren's bravery a lot. His courage.

He killed a Titan! Good for him.

"She's not here." Eren reported sadly. Hannes also got back and shook his head.

"I'm sure she's alive." He assured. "Her body isn't here. And there's no sign of struggle."

"Then we have to find her!"

"The only thing we can do is go to the gate. We need to go to the inner city now and evacuate."

"But-!"

"Your mother will be alright. Just like your father is."

Hannes wished his words were true. Eren wished too.

They ran towards the evacuation area, a large boat was boarded with a huge number of people and at the pier there are still more, they were panicking, pushing each other and shouting and demanding that they be saved first. It's about survival now.

Eren hated it the most when humans would turn against each other because they want to live. But then.. would he have done the same?

Hannes led the three kids there. Mikasa was quietly following them around, especially Eren. Eren was sad that his mother wasn't around. Armin nudged his ribcage all of the sudden and his face lit up. He wasn't know how he would feel when he saw it. But he had one goal in mind. He followed his instincts.

At the side of the pier, there was a woman being pushed off by the Garrison. She was covered in blood and was pale already. Eren ran to her side, hugging her tightly.

"Mom!" he sobbed in her arms.

"Eren.."

The moment Hannes and Armin saw this, they ran their eyes to where her wound was. Seeing her ankle and arm had bite marks and dried blood around it. She will not be permitted to enter the inner city.

"Please, you have to let her in!" Eren begged the guards.

"She can't. It's too risky!" the Garrison yelled.

"She'll be fine! My Dad is finding a cure for the Titans! He can cure her!"

"We don't have time to argue about this, you can enter or stay here with her!"

"Let her in." Hannes tried to negotiate. He can't let this be the end of it.

"You know we can't do that."

"Squad Leader Hanji Zoe would be glad to take her in." Hannes tried again.

"Yeah but not now. We can barely protect ourselves from the Titans. How worse would it be when we bring one inside?"

"The Military Police are there. They can help."

"Just a few of them. Most are inside Wall Rose. Hannes, you know how this works. We CAN'T and WON'T allow this. No one's an exception."

When Eren heard it, he continued to hug his mother. Mikasa somehow felt what he felt. Her mother turned and she wasn't even able to do much about it.

"Eren please listen to them.." she told her son.

"Mom please don't."

"I'll live off somewhere and find me when there's a cure. For now, I want you to live."

"I can't." he sniveled. "I can't leave you Mom."

Karla could feel the pressure and rush to push Eren away. They needed to evacuate. And she was about to turn. The Titans are coming.

"Yes you can." She caressed his cheeks. Her hands have gone rough.

"Mom.." Eren had no other words to say. He just sobbed and sniffed as he didn't let go of his mother.

"I love you Eren." She kissed him in the forehead, returning his hug before looking at Hannes, silently telling him to take Eren by force. As much as Hannes didn't want to do it, he had to. He grabbed Eren and pulled him away by force.

"MOM NO!" Eren screamed as he struggled from Hannes' hold. "Don't do this!"

"Live on." Karla told him, smiling even in her last breath.

"Mom I love you!"

"I love you too."

"I won't leave you! I won't leave you!"

Hannes stopped the tears from coming out of his eyes as he carried Eren as he pushed through the crowd to enter the boat, Mikasa and Armin following after him. They took the plank so no one can enter the boat and before the Titans got anywhere near.

It was the last time Eren ever saw her.

 **XXXXXXXXX**

It got long than it was supposed to. Sorry if it's predictable. And yeah, the death. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I won't be copying much of SNK's original plot. Just a few or probably the storyline or something. I don't know. I guess I'll see as it goes. See you in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter II: We Are Soldiers

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ATTACK ON TITAN/ SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: May 20, 2016- Friday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

So yeah, you could guess that here you'll see a seemingly familiar scene or probably a similar flow from SNK's episode. Like I said, I'll be using the SNK's storyline for a while, changing it a bit before I make things unexpected. For now, hope you can bear with me here.

Warning! Mikasa might go OOC here!

Read on!

 **Ultimate boredom:** Hey there! It's alright, I don't judge other's english *laughs*. My update took longer than expected. But I tried to finish it today so here it is!

 **CHAPTER TWO: WE ARE SOLDIERS**

Eren was crying at the corner of the deck. The boat was safely traveling towards the inner city. Screams from the other side were faint now. But still the screams of his mother echoed in his head. He could've done something.

He cheered children up, helped victims recover, assisted his father in his visits to cure the sick but he wasn't able to help his mother. He was pained to leave his mother behind.

Hannes tried to make him feel better by returning to Shiganshina as quickly as he could. He brought some friends with him but when they got there, they were told one of the Garrisons had struck her down because she had turned. Hannes sadly kept it to himself.

He lied to Eren saying he couldn't find her anymore and again saying there's a chance she's out there. Alive.

But it didn't help make the boy feel any better. He wanted to be alone.

When they've arrived in the inner city, everyone went their own way. Survival was everyone's priority. Survival of their selves. Others doesn't matter.

Hannes left the three kids along with other kids so that he can report to the Garrison Council about the attack. He promised to be back when everything is cleared out. Soldiers will be needed to try and take back Shiganshina.

Armin was silent all the way. Until night came.

Everyone had their own rooms. The orphanage was large enough to keep the kids.

When Hannes had failed to help him get over it, Mikasa decided to take a shot at it. After all, she owed him. It was the least that she could do.

"Hey." She greeted.

"…" Eren chose not to say anything.

"I'm sorry about your mother."

"Everyone is sorry for her but they didn't do anything!" he doesn't want to hear any of it. He's heard enough.

"What could we have done?" she asked. Wanting him to see the possibilities back there.

"We could've saved her! They could've saved her! I could've saved her! I don't know! But I know someone could've saved her!" he sniffed after yelling his feelings. "She was the best in the world! Why..? Who would do that..?!"

"I- I don't know Eren." Mikasa said, speechless.

"This is just unfair!" In anger, he got up and kicked a corner, throwing a fit. "Why does people who doesn't deserve to suffer like that.. well.. they just happen!"

He kicked again and Mikasa could only watch him. She wasn't sure what good words to say to help him. He was a victim just as she was.

"We both lost someone we love. But we shouldn't give up." Happy thoughts. She wanted to bring him happy thoughts.

"So you'd prefer to live like this? See people die?!... everyday?! Because I don't want to live like that!"

"Your mother's last words is for you to live!" she reminded him but he just burst out in more anger.

"Don't bring up my mother in this! She's got nothing to do with you!"

"She's got something to do with you!" Mikasa yelled. "She wanted you to live, didn't she? What you're doing right now isn't living! It's entirely your choice to uphold her wish her or not!"

Mikasa didn't expect that she'd yell at him so she shut her mouth and looks away, feeling guilty that she yelled at her savior.

"I'm sorry." she said weakly and left the room.

Eren was left thinking.. was Mikasa right? Was I wrong?

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

FIVE YEARS LATER (I purposely skipped it for flashback purposes in the future)

Keith Shadis. A Survey Corps Commander. Was the one training the latest recruits of the Survey Corps. The latest recruits were all lined up and he was trying to intimidate them one by one, excluding those he believes are worthy to stay. But while doing his routine like he usually does to newbies, there are a group of newbies who were running towards the line.

"Hurry up! We'll be late!" yelled a brunette boy with piercing eyes.

"But we are _already_ late!" replied a blonde boy.

"Not if the instructor isn't there yet!" a boy with a shaved head said. "We can make it!"

"We can be hopeful, but it's unlikely." the girl with a scarf countered.

"As long as they feed us, I don't care!" said a girl with brown hair.

Ketih stared at the new arrivals and greeted them as he crossed his arms. ' _What do they think this is, high school?!_ ' he thought as he stood firm and tried to intimidate them with his stare. The five stopped running and tried to catch their breath.

"You're LATE." Keith notified them.

"We're sorry! We had to take a detour and-" Eren tried to explain but Keith grabbed him by his jacket.

"I don't take excuses, recruit!" he yelled before dropping Eren on the ground. "The responsibility we carry in Survey Corps is unlike any other responsibility! Here, the lives of others depends on us! Their supplies will depend on us! Our expansion, success, maps- everything! It all depends on the Survey Corps! We are life-riskers! We risk our lives for the sake of humanity! If you plan on joining the Garrisons or the Military Police, you still have no right to do as you did now!"

Everyone remained silent while Keith made his speech.

"Do you understand that, rookies?!" he told the five and they all nodded to answer. "We take everything seriously here! So if you violate the our code, you will be punished according to the level of your violation. And that goes for all of you!"

"Yes sir!" said all the recruits in unison.

"Good. Now where was I?" he said and turned to the five. "Introductions. State your name and your reason for wanting to join the Military."

"Connie Springer! I'm the strongest in the village and I decided to contribute my services in the Military to help my village!"

"Sasha Blouse! I am one of the best hunter in our village and I want to improve more to be the best hunter!"

"Armin Arlert! I want to help humanity see the outside world!"

"Mikasa Ackerman! To serve humanity is my goal until the end!"

"Eren Jaeger! I WANT TO RELEASE HUMANITY FROM THIS ROTTEN PRISON BY KILLING ALL THE TITANS THAT LIVE IN THIS WORLD!"

Some recruits mumbled to each other about Eren's resolve but Keith remained silent and nodded at them.

"Alright, next!"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After running dozens of laps around the courtyard, the five who were late earlier fell on their knees, all were exhausted, dehydrated and hungry. Sasha was no longer standing and was just lying flat on the ground. Connie was lying on his back, his face looking up at the dark sky, reaching for an imaginary bread in front of him. Armin was crawling towards them, he was the slowest among them and the one with lesser endurance. Eren and Mikasa were sitting up at the corner of a woodshack.

Two trainees approached them. One small blonde girl was carrying a tray of food while the taller one had nothing.

Immediately after sensing food, Sasha got up and jumped on Krysta, grabbing the bread on the tray and started swallowing it. Eren and the others were caught in shock.

"So you were still alive!" Connie yelled.

"And you ate the bread!" Eren said as he ran towards the tray to reach for what's left.

"I- I'm sorry, this is all I could get for you guys." Krysta said and they all looked at her. She glowed as if she was a very bright light. An angel.

"This is more than enough!" they exclaimed and ate the small piece of meat on the tray.

"I'm glad." she said and smiled. The smile only made her glow brighter.

"Man Krysta, you don't have to be _this_ nice to everyone." says Ymir, scratching her head.

"But look at them. They're all so hungry." she said and giggled as she watched the four share to each other. Or more like the three share the meat to each other and Sasha eats the bread alone.

When they finally were able to fill their stomachs with something, they sighed in relief, but their stomachs still growled.

"Oh my, you're still hungry!" Krysta exclaimed.

"No it's okay, I mean, you did your best to feed us!" Eren tried to comfort.

"What did you say you brat?!" Ymir yelled, her knuckles cracking.

"Or that went out of my mouth the wrong way?"

"Well, I know someone who can feed you guys." Krysta said grinning. "Reiner won't mind. I'm sure of it."

"Ah thank you so much! You're such a goddess!" Sasha said, drooling as she held on Krysta's hand. But after seconds of physical contact, Ymir smacks Sasha away from Krysta.

"She appreciates all your gratitude. But don't go touching her like that you filthy woman!" Ymir yelled.

"Y- Ymir I'm fine." Krysta said reassuringly and everyone swears she's glowing more and more.

"Well then, let's go meet this Reiner and get our stomachs filled." Mikasa said and everyone followed Krysta's lead.

"Wait!" Armin yelled, finally arriving. "I'm hungry too!"

But they were already far and Armin was too tired to run after them. He falls on the ground, holding his aching stomach. His legs could no longer run. He's been crawling and he wasn't even finished with his laps. He was always left behind.

"Eren! Mikasa! Connie! Sasha!" he called again but they were gone. "Please.."

In exhaustion and his completely dried throat and empty stomach, he fell back on the ground, no longer able to move. The only thing he could do was faint. If this is what it's like out on the battlefield, he'd die without even an hour passing by.

But then he heard light footsteps and he was able to sniff a scent of meat.

He lifts his head up from the sandy ground and saw a warm meal prepared for him. The meat was enticing and calling for him already. He blinked and stared at it. Was it real? The food? Or is he already dead?

"Thank you!" he yelled and started to eat. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" he continued to yell while his mouth was full. "My name is Armin!"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The following day, everyone was doing a sparring practice. Keith was at a distance talking with another Survey Corps member. Eren was staring at them, trying to figure out what they were talking about.

"Hey kid, are we fighting or are we stalking?" Reiner said and snapped Eren out of his thoughts.

"Sorry. I was just.."

"Don't slack off or you'll end up not being able to end the whole day again." he warned.

"But some people _are_ slacking off." he said. "Like her." he pointed at a small blonde who had returned from sleeping outside of the fence. "I don't know why but for some reason, Keith doesn't notice she's always missing."

"Then let's pick a fight with her." Reiner said and smirked.

"H- Hey Reiner!"

"Hey shorty!" Reiner called but Annie didn't look at him. "Annie!"

When the small blonde heard her name, she turned to Reiner who waved a hand at her. Eren slams a palm in his face, failing to stop Reiner from saying such things to a girl. Annie was waiting for them to say anything else.

"Why won't you entertain us while you're at it?" Reiner said. "You don't seem to be interested in participating in any activity anyways. So why not just help us train? Be the bodybag here?"

"Oi oi! Reiner that's enough!"

"I'm too small for a target." Annie retorted. "Why won't you make yourself useful and stand there while the rest of us use you as target practice."

"Oh wow, you've got big guts to talk to me like that for such a small girl."

Reiner was grinning, Annie was being her usual apathetic self. But her glare was sending shivers down Eren's spine. _She must be offended. I have to stop this before anything bad happens._ Eren thought.

"And you've got such small balls for a big guy." Annie replied and Reiner narrowed his eyes at her. He suddenly threw a punch at her, at which, Annie dodged without effort. Reiner's fist passed by the side of her face. Everything felt so slow when he threw the punch but when it was Annie's turn to move, everything happened so fast.

Reiner was dropped dizzy on the ground with a terrible posture.

Eren gulped and looks at Annie. _She may be small, but heck she's dangerous!_

"I- I'm sorry about that Annie. I didn't mean to-" he tried to apologize but Annie ignored him and walked away, blending in with the other recruits. Eren blinked in wonder and looks back at Reiner. "Are you okay?"

"I'll pay her back someday." Reiner said and sat up.

"Slacking off I see." said a voice behind Eren. Eren recognizes is pretty well. "Anything I can do for you boys?"

"K- Keith-san!" Eren backed away from him, afraid of what he'd do to them. "W- We weren't slacking off! I promise!"

"I sure hope so." Keith said and left.

At the end of the day, Eren had finished eating and washing himself. He was laying down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. There was complete silence until he heard the door open and close.

"Armin, you're back. How's training?"

"They beat me. As always." Armin said and crashed on the bed. (It was a double deck. Eren has the top, Armin has the bottom). "I don't want you to always protect me. I want to learn to stand up on my own."

"I know."

"..."

"Oh by the way, I lost sight of you on our first day. Did you finish the laps?" he said upon remembering that he forgot about his friend back there. He must be really hungry that he prioritized food.

It took Armin time to answer.

"Yeah... I did."

He said and closed his eyes.

 _I did._

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sorry for the really delayed update! Here it is now!

Oh and, I'm doing a poll so if you have the time, please come by and vote! Thanks!

For more fics you want to read, feel free to check my _Library_ for other fics I wrote!


	4. Chapter III: The Intruder

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: June 13, 2016- Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **So it took a while to upload chapter 3 but it's faster than chapter 2. I decided to give some time in writing this SNK fic. I don't get much readers but because of a loyal guest reviewer, I will give time to write for this too.**

 **Here's chapter 3, enjoy!**

 **CHAPTER THREE: THE INTRUDER**

Armin was awakened by the screaming Eren, seeing that they had woken up late again. A few more lates and they will get the ultimate punishment that they were warned about.

They arrived late as usual, but early enough not to be noticed by the instructor. Mikasa was able to breathe with ease when she saw the two arriving at last. Although she wanted to flash them a glare, she just couldn't help but smile at them. Jean also saw them lining up at the back and scoffed.

"Oi, you two are one of those late arrivals in the first day. Still couldn't wake up early even if you're not a mile away from here?" Jean teased.

"You got a problem with that, Jean?" Eren challenged that he say more but Jean chose not to get in trouble and smirked.

"A lot. But I'd like to wait to see the time when you two will be caught and punished."

"…alright, everyone grab your own gear and let's start training!" Shadis says and Jean and Eren finally parted ways. Armin was relieved their little debate didn't end in a fight or the two of them will end up being kicked out.

Since Eren and Armin were late, they stayed to the most crowded area of the field and pretends to know what they were doing. Mikasa went to them knowing exactly what their problem was.

"Need some help?" she asks.

"Sorry we're late again." Armin apologizes. "So what are these- gears?"

"They call it the 3D Maneuver Gear. It will help us fight off the Titans." Mikasa replied. "It helps augment our speed and be able to make sharp turns when needed. It also helps us travel faster in a run or escape when needed."

"So it's like an emergency runaway belt." Eren said examining the gear.

"The side part hanging on your belt will serve as the case for backup blades. The hilt can grab onto it if your current one is broken or blunt." Mikasa added. "Nothing complicated there."

"What about the part that we will practice how to use the whole flying thing?" Armin asks, his head cocking towards Jean and Marco using the 3DMG to climb over the fence and onto the roof of the dining hall.

"It's not complicated once you got the hang of it." Mikasa assured.

"Well Armin, let's get this over with. We need to at least learn something or else Shadis will cut our food access again." Eren says as he puts on the gear.

"Right."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

That night, when everyone else were asleep, Armin snuck out of his room to go to the same spot where he was fed by the person he feels attached to. Upon arriving, he sees her in her usual spot. Sitting on top of an empty wine barrel, holding a piece of bread and looking up the sky.

"Hey." He greeted and ran towards her.

The small blonde looks at him without any hint of excitement or the sort. She simply stared as he got near.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked. She swallowed the piece of bread and looks up at the sky, refraining eye contact with him.

"Why are you here?" she asks, changing the subject.

"I thought that since you're here alone, you'd want some company." He replied, hoping that he wasn't bothering any personal space.

"If I want some company I would've been in my room with my roommate." Annie told him and stared in his eyes, seeing that somehow he was sad that she was indirectly rejecting his company. "You don't owe me." She added when she remembered he started bothering her after she fed him that night.

"You gave me food." He shrugged. "Even if you stole it, I don't mind." He hinted that he will not tell anyone about it.

"Are you trying to get close to get access to more food? Because if you are, Sasha's your girl."

Armin let out a laugh at the suggestion, but it wasn't his reason. He was there for something else. For some reason, he feels attached to her, like they've seen each other somewhere before. He couldn't pinpoint where exactly or when, but deep inside he could feel it. The connection.

"Annie right?" he asks and she nodded. "I'm not here for any purpose of using you for my own benefit. I just want to gain friends, that's all." He said and offered his hand towards her.

"Friendship doesn't last in this career." She tells him, ignoring his hand. He dropped it and gave her a curious look.

"What do you mean?"

"People die. Everyday. You meet someone today, tomorrow you meet someone new." She explains. "Getting to know a comrade will just hurt you once they die so I suggest we keep it this way."

The blonde boy smiled at her and took her hand to shake with it, causing the small blonde to stare at him in wonder.

"You're nice, Annie." He says. "I know how it feels to lose someone close and it definitely hurts than seeing a stranger die. But what's more painful than seeing someone you know die is seeing someone you could've known to die. Sure one of us will die sooner or later, but at least we got to know someone we won't regret to remain in our hearts forever, right?"

"You throw that speech as if dying was simple." Annie raised a brow on him after pulling her hand back. "Read it from a book somewhere?"

"W- Well, yeah." Armin stuttered and scratched the back of his head. "I really meant to quote from it but- well- I-"

Seeing the stuttering and now panicking young boy, the small blonde sighed and jumped down from the barrel to place a hand on his shoulder to make him stop.

"I was just asking." She says, assuring him that she won't sue him for not quoting where he got his speech.

"Oh." He says in relief.

"The night is cold. I want to get some rest." She took her hand and starts to walk away, not wanting to stay with her current company any further. Armin however, had a sudden thought.

"Wait, you read books too?"

But when he turned around to wait for her response, she was gone. Armin was a bit disappointed at the outcome of their conversation but was happy nonetheless that they had a talk.

When he got back, he glanced on a certain shadow entering his room. He rushed towards their room with a knife in hand and finds no one there but sleeping Eren.

 _Must be my imagination._

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

The following day, they continued their 3D Maneuver Gear training. Shadis wanted to be sure that they perfected their 3DMG skills before going out there on their own.

This time they were in the forest doing their training. Armin was spacing out, thinking of the events last night when suddenly he saw another glimpse of the same shadow from last night. But it went away and when he ran after it, it was gone.

 _What is that? Who-?_

"Armin! Hey there you are!" Connie called.

"Connie?"

"Shadis has been looking for you man! You've got balls slacking off on training." Connie reminded him that they were still training and not having a free time.

The blonde boy nodded and flipped midair, swinging from tree to tree until they've arrived with the others.

Eren on the other hand was having an improving time as he and Reiner trained again. Mikasa was watching him enjoy himself with Reiner's company and was glad he was able to enjoy his training and not think about 'KILL THE TITANS' all the time.

While sitting and taking a break, she spots Sasha sneaking up on Jean and Connie, waiting for them to find a prey before popping out of nowhere to steal their prey. She chuckled at the reactions of the boys when they were surprised to see Sasha kill their prey.

On the other side, she sees Ymir shouting at Annie for 'stealing' Krista's prey. Although Mikasa knew that Ymir was just blowing steam because Krista might not make it to the top 10 if she fails this part of the test.

"Mikasa." Eren called, catching Mikasa's attention entirely.

He sat down beside her, covered in sweat. She didn't mind. He handed her a bottle of water, one that he was holding before drinking on his own bottle.

"Having fun?" she asks.

"Fun? No. Training is some serious thing. Fun isn't in my vocabulary." Eren tells her and drops the empty bottle. He felt refreshed after drinking some water and stood up again. "Plus Reiner is a good training partner. What about you, who are you training with?"

"Just myself." She shrugged.

"Want to hang out with us then?" he offered. "Bertholdt isn't as charming as he looks but he could match your skills." He teased, knowing Mikasa was top of the class.

"I'll take it easy on him." She says, taking him up on his offer as she herself got back on her feet.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Night came and everyone was tired, giving all their best in this training was necessary in order to get to Top 10 and enter the Military Police. Armin, once again, snuck out of his room to meet up with Annie but upon arriving to her usual spot, she was not anywhere.

 _Did I scare her off? Or was she annoyed with me?_

He wondered as he walked back to his room to see the shadow again. He was pissed that for some reason the shadow was following him, as if watching his every move.

Armin took the guts to actually give his best to catch it, only to find out that it was a Titan.

When he pushed the shadow inside his room and point his knife at it, the Titan looked him in the eyes and Armin felt the need to run. The Titan didn't move until Armin dropped its body and kept his distance from it.

 _It's alright Armin, be cool. It's just one Titan._

Armin points the knife at the Titan and was hesitant to stab it and at the same time hesitant to run. He was afraid that in either options he will get killed in the process. The Titan could overpower him and kill him, later killing Eren and everyone else. If he runs, the Titan could chase him and kill him then killing everyone else.

Neither of those options feels like the right thing to do.

 _You can do this Armin, there's nothing to be afraid of._

When the Titan got back on its feet, Armin screamed and jabs the knife in the Titan's chest but the Titan caught his hand and threw him in the bed. Armin gathered more courage to jump back at the Titan to kill it. Just one slash at the nape of its neck and its dead.

That's all he needed to do. That's what Armin's goal is at the moment.

But as soon as the Titan dropped back down, his nails slowly 'melted', his warm skin getting warmer, the rough skin in certain parts of the Titan's body had shed, the sharp teeth returned to a normal human's teeth, the long hair had reverted back to its short style.

Armin realized who it was slowly turning to be.

 _Eren?_

As soon as the Titan had finished transforming back into Eren, Armin realized he was trying to kill Eren earlier. Eren was sleeping peacefully, as if not noticing he was sleepwalking as a Titan earlier.

 _Eren… how is this possible? What is going on here?_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Armin didn't get enough sleep. Or he didn't sleep at all. Eren saw him sitting at the edge of his bed when he woke up.

"Oh Armin, good morning!" Eren said and stretched his arms. "Wow you're up early. Today's our final training so I guess we're both excited."

"Eren…"

"Hmm?"

"Tell me… do you… do you know that… you're a Titan?" he didn't want to ask but he needed to know if Eren was in on this little information.

"What are you saying Armin? That's ridiculous." Eren says. "Is that the effect of your lack of sleep?"

"I almost killed you last night." Armin's eyes locked on the knife on the floor, the knife Armin was supposed to use to kill Eren's Titan self. Eren realized Armin wasn't kidding at the topic and turned to Armin with a worried expression.

"Armin.. I don't know what's going on but I'm not a Titan." He assured him.

"I've been having a glimpse of your Titan self walking around the training grounds and in our room. You were sleepwalking as a Titan Eren." Armin informed him and the brunette boy was shocked at the news.

"That can't be! There's no way it's possible!"

"I don't know how or why Eren… but I swear I saw it." Armin said and suddenly reached a hand to touch Eren's chest. His heart. "I almost stabbed you right here."

Eren remained frozen to let everything sink in.

He was a Titan? Was he infected? Was he bitten? For some reason, did he gained a disease to transform into a Titan while he's unconscious? He couldn't get the answer he was looking for but he knew one thing.

"Armin.. we can't tell this to anyone." Eren said, afraid of what will happen to him if anyone finds out.

"I know." Armin nodded, taking his hand away from Eren's chest and looking away. "I know." He repeated but this time, more of a whisper.

"But Armin… we can try and control this right? We can study me?" Eren thought aloud.

"What do you mean?"

"What if we can use this to our advantage?" Eren wanted to suggest.

"Not if it'll be a secret." Armin says. Hinting Eren that if they want to use it, they can't use it as a secret or they'll be enemies of the other soldiers.

"Then until I can control it, let's keep it a secret. After I get the hang of it, let's.. let's tell them."

"Alright Eren."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Not as interesting as it should be but things like this are just really hard. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, get ready for the next chap!


	5. Chapter IV: Field Test

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: June 13, 2016- Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **So Eren's a Titan? Yay? So if things are going really, really slow, I apologize. The action doesn't go until chapter 6 so basically introduction continues on from here until chapter 5. If it will extend, I'll just let you know.**

 **Okay I think this will be an Eren x Mikasa pairing, Armin x Annie then Jean x Sasha. Other than that, I'm still working on it. Reiner x Krista, yeah. Oh and chapters for the meantime are short until we've reached the 'point of events'.**

 **Other than these announcements, there's nothing else to say so read on!**

 **CHAPTER FOUR: FIELD TEST**

When finally the 104th Trainee Squad had finished their training, they had one last thing to do before the final test.

They are sent as a group, divided into two, to meet up at a certain meeting point before going back to base. One group will be given a headstart to go on and find the meeting place and be sure that it is safe. After two hours, the second group will be following the first group and find the meeting place to supply them new supplies.

After the two groups have met, they will find an alternative or faster way to get back home without casualty. The very goal of the test is to get back home from a 'exploring expedition' without a casualty.

Eren, Armin, Sasha, Reiner, Bertholdt, Krista and Jean were on the first group. Mikasa, Marco, Annie, Ymir, Thomas, Nic and Connie were on the second group.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

"Tch, the way they divide us, is it even fair?" Jean asks while their group were running towards the forest with horses.

The training ground will not reach far from the walls for the trainees' own safety.

"What? You think just because the top of the class isn't here, we're goners?" Reiner challenged and Jean looks away, his narrowed eyes looking straight on the road.

"I wasn't talking to you." He mumbled.

"Guys, its best we get along. There are no instructors here that will protect us if we encounter those Titans." Armin told them with an obvious tone of nervousness.

"This test is probably testing our guts to go out of the walls." Bertholdt tried to guess.

"And what? See if we have the ability to kill Titans?" Jean said and scoffed. Pretty sure he was picking a fight with anyone in the group but Eren wanted to remain silent, afraid that suddenly he'll turn into a Titan.

"The instructions are not to engage Titans unless we have no choice." Armin reminds him.

"What kind of life and death situation do they want us to be in before its 'necessary'?" Jean asks, challenging Armin's intelligence.

"I don't get what you're trying to say Jean, but we should just keep quiet and get along!" Sasha interjected and smiled, everyone could see bread crumbs on her cheeks and immediately get a clue that she had snuck out some bread again but Krista thought otherwise.

"S- Sasha, you didn't eat our food supply did you?" she asked and Sasha didn't respond.

"You ate it all didn't you?!" Jean asked, furious at the glutton beside him.

"I got hungry all of the sudden!" Sasha cried.

"You're really going to get it you filthy woman!" Jean yelled and reaches for his gear to get a sword and chop Sasha's head off.

"Guys, look forward!" Armin shouts to get their attention.

In front of them was a small group of Titans. They were scattered widely from each other and all were walking around in circles in a slow manner. Blood was dry from their clothes, hands and mouths which means no recent deaths were made.

"Finally! To kill off some Titans!" Jean yelled excitedly and ignored Sasha, he manipulated the leash of his horse to run faster.

"JEAN!" Armin called.

"We're not supposed to engage them in a battle!" Krista added but the naughty boy continued until suddenly, Reiner's horse blocked his path and Jean had no choice but to pull himself to a stop.

The horse neighed and Jean pulls it to the side to calm it and keep distance from Reiner.

"Do you want to die, Reiner?!" Jean yells.

"That's not what this mission is about." Reiner said sternly.

"Why are you all against it? Isn't that what that Jaeger boy wants to do too?!" Jean looked at Eren's way, finding him very well-behaved, which is odd.

"We're a team, Jean. If you want to die first, do that when we're done with this task." Reiner says and pulled his horse away, going back to the direction of the meeting place.

The Titans heard the commotion and were walking towards the young recruits now. With their slow-paced walking, the recruits had nothing to worry about.

Some Titans had the ability to run but some doesn't. An Aberrant Titan is something they want to keep away, but normal Titans such as this group, they can easily outrun them without worrying about anything.

When they've reached the camp, Sasha was scolded by Reiner as well, as leader of the group it's his responsibility to keep his members in line.

Meanwhile, Eren was alone by the lake, not wanting to mingle with the group. Armin knew why.

"Eren. You shouldn't go off on your own." Armin said when he found Eren.

"I don't know, Armin." Eren says, looking at his reflection through the water. "Jean reminded me earlier that I am the one shouting about killing Titans but then I wasn't the one excited about killing them."

"Because right now that's not the priority." Armin tells him.

"Still… this whole thing about me… I don't want to be one of them. And that just… complicate things."

Armin sat beside him knowing it's going to be a long talk.

"You're not one of them Eren. You just happen to have the chance to fulfill your goal." Armin shares his thoughts about what he thinks on Eren's condition. "You can't kill Titans with your bare hands… not all of them at least. But with this ability, you can kill as many of them as you want, without worrying about running out of gas or breaking your blade."

"You think so?"

"Come on Eren, we both know that you won't go down that easy. This whole Titan thing just needs to learn to fear you." Armin didn't want to say it but he's again quoting it from one of the books he's read.

Eren smiled at his friend, he wouldn't know what to do without him. He got back on his feet and takes a step forward but slips by the slippery rocks. His hands reached for anything he could reach for to keep him from falling over the lake but he ended up grazing himself from thorny bushes as he fell.

It was ankle-deep anyway.

"Eren, are you alright?" Armin asked, although Eren didn't need to answer that, he was definitely fine.

"Of course I—" he felt his whole body warm. No—cold.

His palm that got grazed by the thorns, at first the pain was like fire burning his wound but after seconds it felt cold. Very cold that he could no longer feel the pain. He felt numb.

His sight began to blur, as he stared at Armin who was saying things he could no longer understand.

Armin's eyes widened when he realized what was happening to Eren, what was becoming of him… a Titan.

Every time Eren turns into a Titan, he grows a feet taller than his usual height, helping humans distinguish which is a Titan and which is not. Titans may seem to resemble a human in some ways but Titans are taller than any human.

"Eren…"

The Titan stared at Armin in the eyes, it wasn't making any movements, just sitting in the middle of the lake just as Armin remained sitting by the rock.

"…Eren, do you recognize me?" Armin kept his distance in fear that Eren's consciousness is out.

The Titan nodded and Armin was surprised.

"You can… control yourself?" he asked in curiosity.

The Titan slowly lifted its hands up, he stared at his own hands, seeing that his wounded palm was no longer wounded. The wound had closed as if it were never there. The blood had dried. Then he tried to move his toes, his shoes tore after the transformation so he could see his own feet.

When he could move his own toes and hands, he got up and tried to stretch, trying to see how much control he has over his Titan self.

"I guess you can." Armin mumbled.

But it didn't take long that the Titan self of Eren began to once again shed and melt. Eren could feel his whole body burning again until every trace he became a Titan was gone.

"Eren…"

"I know it was great!" Eren exclaimed but fell on his knees after feeling his energy being drained by the transformation.

'…you need new clothes." Armin points out.

"KRISTA LOOK OUT!" they heard Reiner scream from back at the camp.

"Aaah!" Krista screamed.

Eren and Armin's hearts pounded in fear. They've been through his before. On their first encounter with Titans. They've seen both humans and Titans killed, both were brutal and both were bloody. But the difference from their situation before and their situation now is that years ago they were just kids who doesn't have the power to do anything about the situation, right now they are recruits who can change the fates of others by saving them.

The two turned to one another and smiled.

"No fear?" Eren says and stretches his hand forward, slowly turning into a fist.

"No fear." Armin replied as his own fist bumps with Eren's.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

They got back at the camp to find Jean and the others fighting off a group of both Aberrant and normal Titans.

"Where did they come from?!" Eren asked as he jumps in between Reiner and an Aberrant Titan that was a feet taller than Reiner. Eren sliced its legs off and when it fell on the ground, Reiner chops its head by slicing at its nape first.

"They just showed up all of the sudden. Like they were following something." Reiner couldn't explain but he described their arrival as best as he could.

"Following something?"

"They ran here not looking for us, they were just passing by but that hot-headed attacked one of them." Reiner explained. "Well, now's the result of it."

"It's not my fault they attacked us!" Jean tried to justify. "If they're looking for something, that's obviously that potato girl sneaking in more food!"

"H- Hey!" Sasha exclaimed and wanted to comment but she had to defend herself from an attack from a Titan.

"They don't eat our food." Bertholdt says. "If you weren't listening in class, they only eat human flesh and for some reason they follow a scent of something rotten and not a living one."

"It's kind of contradicting, but so far that's what we know about their eating habits." Armin added.

"Tch, whatever!"

"Anyway Eren, what happened to you?" Krista asked, noticing that his clothes seemed beaten.

"Oh uhm… I was practicing and got myself in some mess." Eren lied, they bought it knowing how wild he was when practicing.

Noticing that the swarm of running Titans were too many to handle, they decided to make a run for it and leave their things. The second group may come but they needed to get away or die waiting.

Using their 3D Maneuver Gear, they safely got away from the Titans but the Aberrant ones were able to maintain a good distance from them, also having good speed in running.

"Crap! They're faster than I thought!" Jean yelled.

"Keep moving!" Reiner ordered and took a sharp turn on one of the big trees. Krista made a stop and shifts her angle before following after Reiner.

"We should've grabbed some of the bread before we left!" Sasha commented as she herself made a swing around the big tree and over a branch as she herself went after their leader.

Bertholdt and Jean were next.

Eren however made a stop at the big tree and waited for Armin to also make a stop. Armin had a clue what he was planning.

"Armin, we need to try it out." Eren said.

"Eren, there's too many of them. I can't protect you if suddenly you run out of steam." Armin warned. "You saw how short the span is? You quickly turned back into a human!"

"I know. But we can never know my full potential if we train inside the walls. This is it." Eren tried to convince.

Armin gripped on his sword, making a decision he hope he won't regret.

"Alright. But how will you turn into a Titan?"

"I don't know. But I hope this works." Eren jumps down the tree and flips midair towards thorny bushes and purposely slapped it with his hand. The same pain repeated from before, the same feeling.

"Eren… be careful." Armin mumbled as slowly Eren drops his gear in the air and landed on top of an Aberrant. He was a Titan already.

As soon as Eren's Titan body made contact with other Titans, he started to throw his fists at them and did not stop until their faces had been destroyed, the coagulated blood splattering all over him and the ground.

More Titans approach him, coming at the aid of their dying friend but Eren got up and kicks the dead Titan towards the arriving group, knocking the Titans in front like bowling pins.

He roared and growled as he charged them with speed he cannot imagine he would have. His punches were stronger than his normal ones, he felt like he was finally dominant over the Titans, that he had more than slight chance to win against them. It was the kind of power that he felt when he transformed that moment. The kind of power he believes will lead him to victory.

When they reunited with the others, Reiner pulls on Eren and hits him in the face.

"Where have you been?!"

"Reiner was worried about you two." Krista explained his sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry. I fell behind and Eren went back for me." Armin lied, they needed a logical explanation for their disappearance.

"Just don't do things on your own Jaeger. We're a team here. If any of you died, I will not be able to forgive myself." Reiner said and pats Eren in the back. "I'm sorry about your jaw."

"Nah I'm fine." Eren smiled knowing he will regenerate any second.

"Any sign of the second group though?" Jean asks. "If they meet up with those Titans without warning, they're dead."

"It's Mikasa we're talking about. She'll handle it." Eren said confidently, believing in Mikasa's skills.

"So where do we meet now?" Bertholdt asks.

"We'll go back there, see if the place is clear." Reiner says and everyone followed his lead.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

They met up with Mikasa's group that was unharmed. They cleared out the camp and they reunited. When they got back, each one was questioned about the outcome of the test, how everyone worked, how everything happened.

When all were summoned at the training ground, it was announced that they had passed the test. And everyone was happy. Mikasa however noticed that something was odd about Eren that night. As if he had done something big back there. A huge role that kept casualties from happening.

She didn't know what it was but she was sure to find out soon enough.


	6. Chapter V: 104th Trainee Squad

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: June 27, 2016- Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Ultimate boredom:** Hoo wow, thank you for the double review too! I thought it was just me who posts a review on every chap, *chuckles* I guess I found a friend! And yeah, thank you for the compliment and support, I hope to continue hearing from you. Sorry for the super-slow paced story though. It's almost there!

 **So this is the chapter before the action begins. The ending of the introduction, okay guys?**

 **Wow it took this long to actually end the intro, that sucks. Well, enjoy this chapter and we're off to action afterwards! This will be short though. Just a chap necessary to end the introduction officially.**

 **We're good, read on!**

 **CHAPTER FIVE: 104** **TH** **TRAINEE SQUAD**

At the success of their field test, the 104th trainee squad prepared for a celebration. They were congratulated for being one of the very few who had fulfilled the task without casualty. But one thing that Shadis didn't tell them was that they were so far the fastest to be able to fulfill that test. It was as if a Titan was on their side.

Of course none of them can explain how it was possible other than Armin and Eren who had stopped and took their time in bashing up the Titans back there.

"Sasha take it easy on the meat! We don't have much in stock!" Mina cried out when Sasha took her share.

"Oh leave her. She doesn't hear you anymore when she starts stuffing food in her mouth like a pig." Connie comments and was about to chew on his meat but then Sasha's hand reached for his ear and pinched it. "O- Ow- ow!"

"I can hear you loud and clear, Connie!" Sasha said with a scary voice and Connie knew the only way to calm her down was sacrifice what needs to.

As soon as Connie's meat had touched Sasha's mouth, she bit on it and didn't let go. Connie allowed his meat to be eaten by her and she lets him go. Reiner laughed at them with Thomas beside him.

"You should've kept your mouth shut, man." Thomas says.

"Pig." Connie mutters and Sasha smacks the back of his head.

Jean rolled his eyes at the idiots before him and looks around, his eyes darting in many different directions, bored at how the celebration was held.

"Hey." Marco greets and sat beside him. "You sure look gloomy in a celebration. Did Sasha snatch up your meat to?" he tried to joke.

"If we're running low on stock with food, why did they allow us to celebrate this small victory?" Jean asked, curious.

"Small victory?" Marco wondered what he meant.

"Think about it. The only thing we succeeded to do is pass this stupid test and they go ahead and throw food at us as if we scavenged a whole lot of food supply." Jean tried to explain his thoughts.

"Yeah, things are not clear there." Marco agrees. "But maybe they saw something that we didn't."

"Like what?"

Marco shrugged, he didn't know the answer to it himself. "But shouldn't we just enjoy our time now while it last?"

"I'm not the type to waste my time on something like this." Jean turned his gaze back at his comrades, observing how each them had smiles on their faces despite knowing sooner or later they will die.

Marco saw the look in Jean's face and smiled after understanding Jean's complicated thoughts at last.

"This celebration, this bond, it's the kind of thing that keeps us going you know?" he tells Jean, catching his attention again. "I get it we're all scared of dying, which is why we're all working hard to make it to the Top 10 and join the Military Police. But there's a bright side of things to be here."

"Like recklessly putting our asses in line not knowing when and where we might possibly be killed?" Jean says, trying hard to hide his irritation on that matter.

"Yeah. I mean, not everyone will be able to experience this celebration, this opportunity we have to make a change." Marco smiled.

"To make a change, huh?" Jean leans back on his cheer, grabbing his cup of beer. "Is that what you plan to do when you meet the King?"

"I'm having second thoughts about being a Military Police. I want to try out being a member of the Survey Corps. It feels like those who are outside can make a difference."

"By trying to 'kill all Titans'?" Jean finished sipping from his cup and places it back on the table. His eyes glanced at the certain brunette boy he is pissed at and Marco saw that look in his face, a different kind of look.

"His goal is seemingly impossible. But what if? What if all soldiers are like him?" Marco says, pointing out the possibility of having a chance against the Titans with people having the same sense of purpose like Eren does.

"Not a chance." Jean suddenly felt annoyed at the topic and finishes his drink before slamming the cup on the wooden table. No one looked his way since everyone was busy.

Jean glanced at Eren again, seeing his face… he feels annoyed already. But then beside Eren was Mikasa trying to feed him like a worried older sister. His heart felt like a needle just struck it and he looks away. Ignoring the fact that Marco was sitting beside him, observing him. Marco smiled and pretends to randomly starts a new conversation.

"So, ever find someone interesting in our squad?" he asks.

"Interesting?" Jean didn't seem to catch up with what Marco was trying to say.

"You know like, love interest?" Marco pointed out and Jean immediately blushed. A blush that he cannot hide from Marco.

"What's with the sudden nonsense?!" he blurted and Marco chuckled.

"That's not something to be ashamed of. I mean, at least have some fun part of your life before our demise." Marco says.

But Jean looks away, hiding his still reddened face from Marco. He didn't want to admit that not long ago he was thinking about Mikasa Ackerman, the girl who seems to catch his attention so far. But Eren's presence was keeping him from making a move.

"S- Stop talking about our death. We're not going to die." Jean tells him but won't looks his way.

When Marco noticed he still won't talk, he sighed a bit and later replaced it with a smile as he turned to a different direction.

"Krista seems to be an interesting girl. She's a goddess. Or so everyone calls her." He starts and looks at the glowing Krista in the center of several guys from the squad. Ymir was right beside her, protectively keeping the guys' hands off her.

"She's not that bad but I think she already has a boyfriend." Jean teases, noticing how much Ymir is always around Krista and barely seen without her.

"Not that bad? You have a different standard kind of woman in mind?" Marco asked, sensing that Jean is beginning to open up.

"Well I think that Mikasa is well, great. But she's always tailing that darned Eren." Jean says with a tone of bitterness as he said it the last part.

"I see."

"Not like I want to talk about it anyway." Jean began to slouch and his eyes unintentionally darted Mikasa's direction again, seeing that Eren wiped off some crumbs beside her lip and in return she wiped his.

Jealousy crawled all over him as he tried to restrain himself.

 _Darn it Jean!_

He yelled at himself as he got up his seat, surprising Marco at his sudden action. He approached Eren's table and glared at him. Eren returned a confuse look.

"What's wrong Jean?" Armin asks.

"Eren… what is… your relation with Mikasa?" he asked, taking all the guts he needs to say it.

"My what?" Eren wasn't sure if he'd laugh at the moment. He can sense that Jean was feeling something for Mikasa that he broke his pride and went ahead and ask that.

"Just answer the question, darn it!"

"He saved my life." Mikasa answered for Eren, not wanting to hear what Eren will say about their relationship.

"Yeah." Eren confirmed. "And ever since that we became best friends."

Best friends. Mikasa was afraid she'd hear him say that, but it's not like she cannot change his mind. Jean's face seemed at ease after hearing it, he smiled and turned his attention on Mikasa now. Eren saw that smile and it was odd to see him smile that way.

"So uh, Mikasa, I… you have a pretty hair." Jean starts and his cheeks were slightly going pink now.

"Thank you. But I will be cutting it tomorrow." Mikasa informs and Jean felt as if he was stabbed in the heart. Was she going to cut it because he complimented it? Eren saw his shift of expression and decided to clarify the situation.

"We were talking about how long hair get in the way in battle." Eren says.

"Oh." Jean got his hint but did not thank me or the sort. "So I guess I'll see you around."

"Sure." Mikasa replied and Jean walks away, scratching the back of his head as he mumbled curses to himself.

Eren and Armin exchanged looks before turning to Mikasa.

"Oi Mikasa, what did you feed him?" Eren asks and Mikasa squints at him.

"I didn't do anything." Mikasa replies.

"But it's sure odd to see Jean that way." Armin said and Eren nodded, his finger tapping his chin as he tried to think about it.

"Too weird."

When Jean sat back his seat, Marco blinked while staring at him. Jean's whole face was red and he slammed his face on the wooden table repeatedly. Marco pulls him from the table to stop.

"I just threw away my dignity back there." Jean tells him and drops his face down, not wanting to show anyone his face ever again.

"But it's normal to have a casual talk with girls." Marco tried to cheer him up.

"And talk about relationships?" Jean asked, wanting to hear an assurance from that one. Marco however couldn't reply with a straight yes. "I knew it."

"Jean, there's nothing wrong with being rejected. It's all part of the fun." Marco tried a different angle of cheering up.

"I hope you're right about that." Jean says and left the table to order more beer.

Unknown to Jean, Eren and the others were still looking at him, observing why he was acting all weird and mushy earlier.

"Where do you think he's going?" Eren asks. "Do you think he'll talk to Krista next?"

"No way, there's too many guys around her. He won't risk his dignity for that." Armin concluded and Mikasa heaved a sigh at the two boys.

"Jean's just getting a drink, can't you see that?" she points out the obvious that they cannot see because they choose to create an illusion that wasn't there.

"You're defending him. I wonder why." Eren teases and Mikasa for the first time hits Eren lightly at the back of his head. "Hey!"

Armin chuckled. The two were being the usual.

"I'll get us more drinks." Armin offered and got up his seat, but then he sees Annie exit the dining hall and decided to walk after her.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Isolating yourself again?" Armin asked when he saw her walking away.

"What do you want?" she asked. Armin knew she wasn't planning on answering his question but he doesn't know why.

She remained standing, her back facing him while Armin kept his distance from her, not wanting her to feel that she's losing her personal space and walk away.

"If you feel out of place, you can join us at our table." He offered, trying to figure out what was the reason that she was leaving, why she always had to separate herself from them.

"I'm not into these things. Might as well take off and sleep." She says.

Armin couldn't point out if she was lying or telling the truth, her manner of speaking, her body movement and facial expression weren't giving any hints. If she was lying she is probably really used to it that she perfectly said it with leaving any sign that she was lying at all.

"Then I'll accompany you." He tried offering again.

"You should reading a book that tries a different angle when offering a girl something." The small blonde suggests and Armin felt a smile crept on his face. "At least do that after you serve your friends."

"They're fine." He says and turned his head to see how Eren and Mikasa are doing, it was by instinct that he did but he wasn't supposed to, knowing that when he looks back at Annie she's gone.

He was right.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Okay, more of a Jean-centered chap, huh? Well, that's all for now. Bye!


	7. Chapter VI: Watch Guard

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: June 29, 2016- Wednesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Ultimate boredom:** Hey there! Wow, I am really thankful for you uhm, miss/sir? Anyway, you're the very reason this fic lives so thank you again! You got me going and you're just really awesome! *smiles and tears of joy* Too dramatic? And yes, Jean has faith in humanity. A little bit at least.

 **Okay today we will have the introduction of the Survey Corps, probably their first debut too. The actions starts at the end of this chap though, still more of a bonding between the trainees for the last time before a warning of probable death scenes.**

 **Yeah it's kinda early to upload, but I'm getting nervous if I'll have the same free time in future days. Schedule is getting complicated as time passes by so as precaution I upload new chaps.**

 **To be honest I am not that good in writing battle scenes so usually I stall time. But anyway, here it is, enjoy!**

 **CHAPTER SIX: WATCH GUARD**

Before they are given the chance to choose which part of the Military they will join in, they will be given the chance to try out all three of it. With the Field Test serving as the tryout for Survey Corps, the next one is Garrison.

They will be paired randomly with a member of the squad and will be given a schedule, a certain shift of what time they'll be looking from over the wall and standing guard. They will also be assigned on different parts of the walls.

Marco Bott and Sasha Blouse will be guarding the rear wall of Wall Maria in the morning, Armin Arlert and Mina Carolina will take over in the afternoons, Thomas Wager and Nic Tius will take over at nights.

At the front wall, the one that separates the citizens of Wall Maria from Shiganshina, Hannah and Franz takes the morning watch. Jean Kirstein and Krista Lenz takes the afternoon watch while Eren Jaeger and Annie Leonhardt takes the night watch.

The side walls will be guarded by Mikasa Ackerman and Connie Springer, Bertholdt Hoover and Ymir, Reiner Braun and Mylius Zeramuski.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

The test went on for three days straight and everyone seems to be having a good job. Or maybe because there are no attacks recently?

Marco was sitting at the edge, observing at the environment below him. Mornings were quiet, just as the afternoons and nights are. Or maybe the noise wasn't heard because they were high up?

He can see the Titans below and none of them are headed towards the wall.

"So this is how boring it is to be a Garrison." Sasha muttered, taking another bite of her bread that she stole.

"The Garrisons doesn't see it that way." He says and the two laughed.

"You know I am willing to bet they did this whole 'tryout' thing so they can try and get recruits to try this line of work." Sasha says, insulting the Garrisons.

Marco looks around, hoping no Garrison was present to hear that.

"It's true. But they are also the ones who will ring the bell and save us from being 'surprise attacked' by the Titans." He tried to show her the good side of being a Garrison.

"More like scream before they can ring the bell." Sasha says and Marco thought that he brought up some wounds.

"I'm sorry."

"Nah don't worry. I just remembered those rumors I heard from Shinganshina." The brunette clarifies and took another bite. "They said the screams of dying Garrisons rang the ears of the citizens before the bell did."

"Shiganshina? That's where Eren and the others are from?" Marco remembered.

"Yeah. None of them talks about it, probably because it brings up bad memories." Sasha says and finishes the bread at last.

"Right. Wounds that no one wants to touch."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

At the same morning, Mikasa was looking out the sky, remembering the times that she and her mother would look up at the sky and watch as the birds flying freely, not afraid if there are predators coming to eat them or kill them. The good old times.

"Mikasa, hey Mikasa." Connie calls her name while he waved his hand a bit in front of her.

When he saw that she turned to look at him, he smiled and laughed.

"I was beginning to worry you're out for some reason." He added.

"Sorry. I was thinking about some stuff." Mikasa tells him vaguely, not knowing how to say things in detail when it's Connie with her.

"I was thinking about some stuff too!" Connie says and pulls her by the hand to run to a certain part of the wall then sits down. "Come on, it won't hurt to slack off at times." He added as he pats the space beside him.

Mikasa decided to take his offer on this one and sits beside him.

"What do you plan on doing?" she asks.

"You see those trees over there?" Connie asked, pointing at the tall greeny trees at a distance. "I want to show you about the discoveries I made the past few days."

"Okay. What about those trees?" she asked, pretending to be interested in it.

"That's where the Titans hang out the most." He says.

"Really? How can you say?" she questioned and he grinned, pointing at the small figures at a distance. The Titans.

"You see them?" he asks.

"Mm-hmm."

"And them?" he moved his finger to a direction on his left, pointing at more little figures which are the Titans. Mikasa nodded and he points his finger at another direction. "And them?"

"Yeah. Where are you getting at?" Mikasa asked, getting his point already. He's pointing at the Titans but what about it?

"Well, they're all going to one place." He shrugged. "Those trees over there."

Mikasa looked back at the three areas where Connie pointed where the Titans were, she saw they were walking, slowly moving towards the trees that Connie was talking about earlier. She got his point. And surely she was surprise to hear something like that from someone like Connie.

"Wow." She complimented.

"I just confirmed it now so I decided to show it to you." He says. "I do wonder though, what's in that place that the Titans are all going there for?"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

The afternoon shifts passed by, Armin and Mina meets up with Marco and Sasha, seeing how sleepy Sasha was already.

"Keep a good eye on this area. Titans are likely to come." Sasha says and jumps down from the wall, with the use of the 3D gear, she swung herself from the wall to a roof and safely down the ground.

"She's just hungry." Marco informs them with a smile.

"I figured." Armin says and chuckled. "We'll take it over from here."

"Alright. See you guys tomorrow." Marco waved a hand goodbye and followed after Sasha. Mina waved back at him before turning to Armin.

"I wonder what they talked about." She says.

"What do you mean?" the blonde boy didn't seem to catch up to her. She giggled to herself as she walked pass him to sit in one of the seats prepared for Garrisons that takes watch.

"Well we'll be staying here for hours until the night shift comes. What do you think we'll do other than watch the beautiful view." She hinted, not wanting to make things easy for the blonde.

He chuckled when he finally understood what she was trying to hint. He sat on the seat beside her and looked at the view before them.

"Have you ever wonder what it's like to leave these walls and live outside?" Armin starts.

"To be honest… I haven't. I'm scared to even step foot on the outside. The reason I chose to join the Military is because I want to get over my fear." Mina responds and Armin can relate to her.

Deep inside he himself is afraid. Afraid on a lot of things but most of all he's afraid to die.

He knows he's not like Eren who has a brave heart and now an ability. He's not like Hannes who can live life even after seeing hundreds of deaths before him. He's not like the Survey Corps who can handle fighting off Titans without abandoning their teammates in fear.

"Me too."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Jean couldn't get over what he saw, he kept on mimicking vomiting noises as he shakes his head repeatedly to forget the scene he witnessed not long ago. Krista was right beside him, laughing.

"How can you get over what you saw?" Jean asked the innocent girl beside him.

"Because Jean, the only thing I saw was your back." She reminded him and continued to laugh.

Jean paused to remind himself of the past. The moment he and Krista arrived the wall to take the afternoon shift, he happens to see Hannah and Franz in a moment that he doesn't want to think about in detail. His instincts tells him to block the sight from Krista and he did.

When Hannah and Franz noticed them, they got back to their sense of duty and apologized.

"Right." He mumbled when he finally remembered.

"Thank you though." Krista adds. "I don't think I'd be able to forget it either if I saw it."

"Don't you do sweet stuff like that with Ymir?" he asked, curious that Ymir was always sticking herself with Krista all the time.

Krista blinks as she stared at Jean. Silence between them lasted until it turned to awkwardness. Jean thought that he asked the wrong thing or that he stepped on a line that shouldn't be crossed.

"Ymir is a friend." Krista points out.

"Too close friend?"

"She's just," she shrugs, "worried about me." Krista's cheeks had a slight pink of shyness that Jean thought she was doing things with Ymir.

Jean mocks a laugh, finding the topic beginning to be awkward at the moment and turns away, scratching his head.

"W- Well, let's talk about something else!" he says while forcing a laugh.

Krista noticed his attempt to clear the awkward atmosphere amidst them and smiled at him, approving of his sensitivity and awareness of reading the situation such as that one.

"I want to join the Survey Corps." She spoke at random. "I want to learn things that the Garrison and Military Police can't teach us."

"What do you mean?"

"The Survey Corps has more experience killing Titans because they have more encounter with them. And that helps get rid of the 'princess' in me."

"Princess?" Jean looked back to see her sincere face. She was looking at a distance though.

"Everyone treats me as if I need to be protected. I'm a soldier too! I want to protect others just as you guys do to me. I don't want to be treated differently." She speaks out. Jean laughed and she turned to him with a confused look.

"You know, some people would love to be in your position while you, who is already there, wants to be somewhere else." He explains the reason for his amusement.

"I know, weird right?"

"No. I think it's just about normal."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Ymir sneezed for the second time, Bertholdt was getting worried.

"Are you sure you don't have a cold? That's the second time." He says.

"I'm fine."

"Don't wait for the third time." Bertholdt warned but Ymir disregarded his warning and places both her hands on her hips to let out a chortle of victory. Bertholdt raises a brow on her because she wasn't victorious in anything. "You're losing your mind because your mind is off looking for Krista." He clears up the reason why Ymir was acting strange.

"I'm not!" she denied but then, she sneezed again.

"Geez! You do have a cold!"

"I said I don't!" and for the fourth time, she sneezed.

Bertholdt sighed and leaned back on his seat, letting Ymir say as she wants and lie to herself. It's not as if they had a connection that he needs to worry too much. He himself was thinking of someone. Someone special to him.

Ymir drank some water and sits back in her seat, staring in complete boredom towards the sunset.

"I don't understand how Garrisons enjoy their job." She mutters and turned to Bertholdt who seems to be in deep thought. "You seem out of it too."

"Huh, what?"

"Nothing." Ymir chose silence as she looks back at the sunset and Bertholdt chose the same.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Night came and Eren and Annie went up the wall to take their shift, seeing how Jean and Krista seems to be in a good connection while they make joke towards each other when they arrived.

Eren was beginning to feel sleepy as he stared at the darkness below him. Night shifts isn't as interesting as the mornings and afternoons. And what bothers him more is that Annie wasn't even talking to him.

"You know, we shouldn't sleep while on duty." He tried to strike a conversation. She just kept her eyes locked on whatever she's staring at when there's nothing but darkness out there. "Don't you feel like this is getting too dull? I mean, we'll be here for a couple more hours before the morning shift arrives." He continued.

"If you're getting sleepy, go get yourself a coffee." Annie spoke but seems that she already wants to end the conversation.

"Okay, if I'm too boring then why won't you try and talk to me?" he suggests.

"I didn't say that."

"Then at least tell me something! We've been partners for nights and every night it's the same. Silence!" he burst in frustration but the only respond that the small blonde gave him is a stare. An unsympathetic stare. "Great. There you go again." He says and drops his hands on his lap. "You're just like this kid I met when I was young. She's so hostile and such an arrogant wench."

"I wonder why you'd call her that way."

"Because when she was talking to Armin she was all nice and friendly. But when I was the one who approached her, she went all 'I don't want to talk to you, period'." Eren tells her with a tone of anger in his voice, pissed as he remembered the child back then.

"Armin is nice. He doesn't talk about me behind my back." Annie says, giving Eren a hint or who the child was.

It took a while as Eren let her words sink in.

"Wait! You're—?!"

"It was Armin's idea, wasn't it? To catch the kids' attention and play ball." She gave another hint and this time Eren was dead-on sure it was her. There was no other blonde with blue eyes who is still hostile as ever.

"No way! Does Armin know?!" he said in surprise.

"Who knows?" she shrugged and took a deep breath as she looked away from him.

"How long has it been since you recognized us? And why didn't you say anything?!" Eren was still in shock, in a way he couldn't explain. If it was excitement or something else.

"On our first day. You guys were late. I wasn't sure at first but," she smiled when she remembered the night Armin spoke to her after she fed him, she asked if he quoted his speech from a book, indirectly asking if he was the same blonde kid she met before, "he proved I was right."

Eren snickered, remembering how much Armin was thinking about her back then.

"You know, I thought he was just the one crazy about you. But it turns out you feel the same way."

"I just treat him the way he treats me." She says and gave him a stare, a stare that's making him feel the shivers again.

"A- About that 'arrogant' description," Eren realized and chuckled nervously, "that's nothing personal."

"Really now?"

"OPEN THE GATES! OPEN THE GATES!" yelled a soldier from outside the walls. "HURRY, OPEN THE GATES! WE'RE BACK!"

The shouts had caught the attention of the lookout Garrisons including Eren and Annie. They turned to the torchlights from below, horses neighing and people screaming, and shouting in panic and concern. The gates slowly opened for the upcoming soldiers to enter.

"It's the Survey Corps." Eren realized. "They're back."

"They don't look good." Annie said as she eyed the wounded members of the Survey that was hurriedly being taken inside the walls. Eren saw what she was looking at and felt the need to do something.

"Come on, we need to do something."

"We're lookouts."

"I know that! But those are soldiers that are wounded and they need help!" he shouts at her, wanting to snap her out of her apathetic self and just express herself for once.

"If you know anything about medical, I won't stop you, Dr. Jaeger." She mocked and Eren's fists clenched, restraining himself from starting a fight with Annie, seeing how good she fought back in training, he feels that she's still way above him. After seeing Eren's short holdback, Annie sighed and turned her eyes back in the dark outside the walls. "There are other things that we can do to help." She adds.

Eren followed her gaze and there he sees Titans coming their way.

"They led the Titans here?" he muttered.

"TITANS! TITANS ARE COMING!" one of the Garrisons alerted the others to notify the whole Trost.

"Grab your gear soldier! Move out! We've got Titans to kill!" yelled another Garrison. Every soldier nearby was alerted and quickly geared up, preparing themselves for a war that's always been there.

"Annie… are you ready for this?" Eren asked, his piercing eyes locked on the Titans running towards the walls.

"Lead the way, Jaeger."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

So ta-dah! Here it is! Next chapter will be the attack of the Titans! Thanks for reading guys!


	8. Chapter VII: Nightraid

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: August 15, 2016- Monday.  
Date Updated: August 17, 2016- Wednesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Ultimate Boredom:** *laughs* Wow thank you so much, you're the awesome one around here. The most awesome reviewer ever! Sorry I've been busy awhile and been updating other fics, but now it's this fic's time to shine! Thank you again! Don't worry, I will not abandon this fic!

 **So now we finally have the raid! Titans are coming at night! Hope you guys enjoy!** **And warning for the violence and blood and stuff, it's the very reason for the rating here.**

 **UPDATE: Okay so I was supposedly going to upload this last August 15 but then in my surprise, I clicked the wrong doc! I'm so sorry! I didn't notice!**

 ***gulp* Sorry for the late upload... I have no excuses.**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER SEVEN: NIGHTRAID**

"TITANS! TITANS ARE COMING!" one of the Garrisons alerted the others to notify the whole Trost.

"Grab your gear soldier! Move out! We've got Titans to kill!" yelled another Garrison. Every soldier nearby was alerted and quickly geared up, preparing themselves for a war that's always been there.

"Annie… are you ready for this?" Eren asked, his piercing eyes locked on the Titans running towards the walls.

"Lead the way, Jaeger."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Everyone who are guarding the walls and those who are standing near the walls were gathered immediately to prepare themselves for an attack, the others who are just about to come are in a rush to aid their comrades. Among those are the recruits of 104th Trainee Squad.

Mikasa was swinging around the city using the 3DMG, hurriedly going towards the walls to aid Eren.

"Mikasa, hold up!" Armin called out to her as he tried to catch her pace.

"There's no time to lose Armin! It's Eren's shift tonight!" Mikasa alerted him and took a sharp turn to one of the houses, making a shortcut towards the wall.

"You can't just think about Eren at times like this! We have a duty as soldiers to the city of Trost!" he reminded her as soon as he himself made that turn, only, not as sharp and fast as Mikasa's.

Mikasa halted her movements and landed on one of the rooftops to let Armin catch his breath, also, to speak to him about her priorities.

When Armin saw that she stopped, he was relieved, but as soon as he lands his feet on the same roof she was stepping on, he could feel the tense aura she had and it wasn't a friendly one.

"Armin… we all have our priorities," Mikasa begins while her back was turned, "I care about the citizens of Trost too, but above them is Eren's life."

"But the pledge—"

"I _will_ protect the citizens, Armin." She assured him as she gripped on her sword. "But right now I need to know if Eren is safe."

 _Eren is alright. I can assure you._

The blonde was tempted to tell Mikasa of the fact that Eren had hidden abilities—the ability to become a Titan. But he wasn't sure if Eren would be joyful to hear the news that he spread the secret. Mikasa is indeed overprotective of Eren, but how far will her care for him go?

Armin kept his mouth shut for a while, trying to process the right words to say.. until a few of their comrades who also had the morning shifts stopped by to speak to them.

"What are you two doing here? The gates are waaay over there!" Sasha exclaimed as she arrived with Marco and Mina.

"Don't tell me, you're planning something aren't you?" Marco tried to guess but he was way off course. However this gave Armin an idea.

He lifted his face up and stopped the processing in his head. He can talk to Mikasa about it later, right now he knows what he'll prioritize, he knows what kind of soldier he is. He turned to see who his available comrades were, letting his brain fill in the empty slots in his plan.

"I hate it when you do that." Sasha mumbled, knowing the look Armin is giving them.

"I have an idea." Armin announced.

"As expected from Armin!" Marco says aloud and patted him in the back.

Everyone seemed to be happy he came up with something but Mikasa remained emotionless about it and was just nodding in approval that his plan will be carried by them if they can.

Either way he wasn't expecting Mikasa to be very open about anything much. For all they know she's just a girl that Eren saved and she feels the need to repay him even after they've grown now.

"Alright, here's the plan…"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

"Heichou! The Titans are coming, fast and running!" Oluo Bozado reported.

"Then what are you still doing here, dumbass?! Go gather everyone and guard the friggin' walls!" Levi orders in such a loud and strong tone. Oluo takes a step back, nodding repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, Heichou! Right away!" He and Eld Jinn ran towards the Garrisons holding forth the attack but while running, Oluo was muttering stuff to himself that he accidentally bit his tongue.

"You know, we did tell you to stop talking while running." Eld told him, noticing that he was in pain because of his bitten tongue.

"S'ut up!" Oluo replied in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Levi and the others are guiding the MP and medical assistants to take the wounded to and the civilians to safety. Erwin Smith, the Commander of the Survey Corps, had just arrived at the scene, along with the reinforcements he can get as soon as he was notified of the upcoming attack from the Titans that were led to base by Levi himself.

"What is the meaning of this, Levi?" Erwin asked and unmounted his horse.

"Those monsters just popped out of nowhere as soon as we've finished scouting our assigned regions. Got us pretty darned good too." replied the captain.

"And you led them back here? I never thought you'd be inconsiderate about the people's safety. Humanity's safety." Erwin pointed out but Levi merely scoffed.

"That's where things got messed up. After we were attacked, we killed them and went back here without leaving a trace. In our surprise, there's a whole pack of them waiting for us at the checkpoint." he says. "The camp at the checkpoint must've been dominated."

"What? Impossible!"

"Tell that to their sorry asses." Levi cocked his head towards the gate where the Titans that were climbing are wearing the Survey Corps' uniform, giving Erwin a hint that indeed the camp outside had been dominated and infected.

"How is that left unnoticed?" Erwin muttered.

"One thing I know, some serious screwed up soldiers are about to die if they get over those walls."

Erwin took a deep breath, thinking of a plan to execute but not sacrifice lives. He gathered his composure back again when somehow he had a bit of a thought of how they're going to deal with the Titans.

"Well, we can start with-"

"TITANS! HERE I COME!" yelled a young brunette boy who was flipping midair towards the top of the wall, both blades ready to slice up some Titans. "DIE!" Without even a single hesitation, he plants both feet on the ground and swings his blades diagonally upwards, slashing at the Titan's stomach up its face and kicks it to fall from the wall.

The two higher ups from the SUrvey stared at Eren, wondering who the heck he was.

"What's up with that brat?" Levi muttered in annoyance.

"Oh that's right, you haven't met the new recruits." Keith said as soon as he himself have arrived. "That's Eren Jaeger, Grisha's son."

"So he decided to become a soldier." Erwin says.

"A reckless one." Levi added as he and Erwin observed Eren passionately kill the Titans up the wall, helping the Garrisons with his amazing resolve.

"Well, the kid helps. We'll need to throw in more of him when we have the time. He'd fit for a Garrison." Keith says with a shrug at the end of his sentence and Levi only scoffed at him before looking back at Erwin, waiting for his instructions. But Erwin didn't give any instructions...

"Shadis, the recruits you mentioned, the 104th squad," Erwin began, his eyes still locked on Jaeger, "you said they passed the Field Test, correct?"

"Yes." Keith nodded.

"I'd like to see more of them in action." Erwin says, forcing Levi's eyes to widen. He was in shock for a second there but quickly covers it up with flaming anger.

"What are you saying?! We're not letting the kids take over!"

"We will assist them, of course. But I'd want to see the best of them. And the only way to do that is see them move in an actual battle. Let's count this as a Field Test." Erwin says.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

 _Where did that darned Annie go? She said I lead the way but she didn't even go after me. Tsk, all talk no action._

Eren thought while he was on top, assisting the Garrisons push off the Titans off the wall.

 _But still, she's got exemplary skills. How can she choose not to use it when needed? Who am I kidding? She's not even interested in joining any sparring practice, let alone see her practicing the use of the 3DMG either._

Troubled with the missing Annie, he didn't notice the Titan coming at him. The moment he realized it, it would've been too late but fortunately for him, Reiner, Krysta, Nic and Ymir arrived in time to save his sorry ass. Reiner chops the head off the Titan and kicks it over the wall. Nic went behind Reiner to protect him from more Titans that were climbing up the wall.

"Reiner!" Eren exclaimed.

"What do you think you're doing Eren?! Spacing out like that!" Reiner scolds.

"I- I'm sorry, I was just- well, sorry." he wasn't sure how to explain that while he was fighting he was thinking about Annie.. not in that way though.

"Geez, Eren, do you have a death wish?" Ymir asked but does not expect an answer. "Going here without some sort of plan? Be thankful your partner called on us, told us that 'Eren's gone rogue' again."

 _Partner?_

"Annie?" he asked.

"Of course! Aren't you two on night shifts?" Ymir confirmed that it was indeed Annie that called on them.

 _Was she worried for me? But why didn't she stop me instead? No, I wouldn't stop._

"Guys! There's one helluva Titan that's really big down there!" Nic exclaimed as he observed the Titans below.

The rest of the gang peeked below, seeing that there was a twenty feet Titan walking towards the wall, it was big and covered in steaming smoke. It was walking casually towards the wall.

"T- That's a really big Titan!" Krysta said in surprise.

 _What the heck is that?! How can there be such big of a Titan?!_

The Garrisons who were also on top of the wall, were blowing canons towards the Titans, the little ones that is. When they spotted the big one as well, they were alerted and quickly, they aimed their canons at the big Titan coming their way.

"FIRE!"

Canons fired but the canons merely damaged the Titan. It was even unfazed. It ignored the canons and walked towards the wall, preparing for some serious punch. Eren and the others noticed that it was positioning itself for a punch in the wall.

"EVERYONE- GET OUT OF HERE!" Eren yelled all of the sudden.

But everything happened too fast for the recruits to even make a move. The huge Titan started punching the walls, causing a Titan-made earthquake that shook everyone off their feet, almost scaring the soldiers and civilians nearby.

The punches were continuous and strong, causing that part of the wall to crumble until large holes were made. Both big and small pieces of the rocks flew towards the village inside, alarming Erwin and everyone else who were on the other side of the wall that something was up outside.

"Commander! There's one huge Titan outside that's creating this earthquake!" claimed one of the Garrisons who got down on the wall, fear had filled his whole visage.

"Huge Titan?"

"About twenty feet!"

Before anyone could answer, they heard loud screams from the wall. The Titans have entered and are now running towards the village. The Garrisons over the walls are either dead or dying. Either way, the walls are covered in human blood. It was dripping all over because of the dead Garrisons and Surveys on top.

"NIC HOLD ON!" Eren yelled at Nic who was holding at the edge of the wall.

"EREN!" Nic cried for help as he waited for Eren to stretch his arm towards him.

 _I'm coming!_

But before Eren could reach him, the huge Titan's fist made another hit towards the wall, again, shaking it from its strong foundation. Nic lost hold and Eren almost fell if it wasn't for Mikasa and Armin who came to pull him up.

"NIC!"

"EREN!"

Marco swung with his 3DMG towards Nic to try and save him but if he were to go deeper into saving him, he's gonna end up dead as well and so he swung back up. Eren wanted to save him but Mikasa held on him tightly, making sure he won't fall to his death just as what Nic is about to face. They heard Nic land on the ground with a splatting sound, the Titans nearby later devouring him until he was no longer seen.

"LET ME GO!" Eren yelled at his two friends. "I SAID LET ME GO!" he yelled one last time and they did. "HOW DARE YOU LET NIC DIE!" he yelled at them in fury.

"Eren, we tried." Armin says.

Eren could've caused a fight but there was still a raid going on so he held his anger in, however his blood was boiling.

"You could've died if you reached his hand." Mikasa points out. However, since it was coming from her, Eren would think she only said that because she wants to save Eren's life and heck does not care for others.

There was silence.. or well, sort of, for them, but there are still a lot of screaming and shouting as their background music. Eren was trying to get over his lack of ability to help save those in need of saving, just as he failed to save his mother.

"The huge Titan is gone." Krysta announced as she peeked to see it again but not find it. Ymir was right behind her, her face in relief that Krysta was alright after the 'earthquake'.

 _Where did it go? Is it also possible that.. that the huge Titan was also.. like me? No no no! Let's not think about that._

"Then let's get going. We need to stop this attack." Eren said, deciding to change the subject.

"But with all these holes in the wall, everyone will decide to evacuate instead of fight and protect the village." Marco says as he'd observed.

"With this much damage, I don't think my plan will work anymore." Armin said, a bit disappointed that his plan cannot be executed at the moment.

"We have no choice, let's help everyone evacuate." Reiner said and was the first to jump from the wall and leave his post. They didn't have much of a choice. Ymir and Krysta followed his lead.

"No other plans, Armin?" Marco asked.

"Well-"

With a loud roar, they were all surprised to feel another magnitude of earthquake with rocks flying directly at the wall. But the thing about these rocks is that, it wasn't destroying the walls. It was thrown at very quick velocity that they're not sure if it was indeed rocks. But what they know is that as soon as it hits the wall, especially the holes, the somehow melting and/or shedding rock was drying up, covering the hole. Armin however, was caught in the force of the thrown rocks from the forest, causing him to fall over the wall.

"ARMIN!"

Armin could just use his 3DMG to getaway from that death situation but as he tried to use it, it malfunctioned and it threw him off course, towards the hole in the wall until he's went passed the hole and outside the walls.

"ARMIN!" This time, Eren, Mikasa and everyone else screamed.

Good thing the blonde boy didn't land with a splat or he would've been dead. But he broke his leg on his fall and the Titans are right there beside him. What's worse is that he can see Nic Tius' corpse very clearly. His gut was wide open and scattered, his ribs and bones were already exposed. Not much skin and flesh was left to their poor comrade.

Frightened at this sight, Armin screamed.

 _Armin! No!_

There was no way Eren could've saved Armin in time if he were a human. Armin crawled away from Nic's body and the Titans who were eating Nic. He crawled away and away but remembered he had a sword. Well, if he's _this_ scared sometimes having a sword wouldn't matter. He grabbed his own sword and kept it in between the Titans and himself.

But he was right outside the walls and Titans are all over that part. The outside. He was completely surrounded by them.

"Armin hang on!" Marco says and was preparing to jump down and save him. Mikasa as well. Eren however was planning something different to save Armin.

If bare humans were to save him, there will be casualties. Just as the Field Test taught them.. there were no casualties because he turned himself into a Titan. And right now there's only one way to save Armin.

 _Armin..._

Eren stared at his palm for a while, remembering that when pain is inflicted on it, he turns. Without hesitation, Eren jumps off the wall and swings himself towards Armin's location, giving Mikasa and Marco a shock.

"EREN!" Mikasa yelled.

He then bit on thumb, so hard that it bled. But after biting on it, he unbuckles his 3DMG and before he could land beside Armin, he was already a Titan. Without a doubt he smashed the Titans away from Armin, so strong that the Titan's skin and bones were damaged and dislocated. He hits one in the face until it flipped over and fall on the ground. He stomps his feet over it and readied himself to hit another one.

Mikasa and Marco were in shock.. too much shock that they couldn't move. Armin himself was surprised.. not at the fact that Eren's a Titan though.. but because he exposed his identity and saved him.

"Eren.."

When all Titans near Armin were beaten and mutilated by Eren's Titan form, Eren roared and scared off the rest of the upcoming Titans, almost as if telling them to go away. And so they did. The only thing they have to deal with are the Titans who have entered the wall, but other than that there's no upcoming Titans anymore. And surprisingly, the wall that the huge Titan beat... was miraculously re-built. Not as perfect as before but it was enough to cover up huge holes in it.

Eren's Titan form was about to pick up Armin and help him get up the wall but then it slowly melts.. as if the Titan form was shedding and Eren fainted right beside him.

"Eren.. thank you."

What these two boys didn't know is that there's a pair of eyes watching them from the forest.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

Am I forgiven? *laughs* Hope so. Wait for the next update then! Thanks for reading!

Sorry for the weird stuff happening there though.


	9. Chapter VIII: Testify

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: August 23, 2016- Tuesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Ultimate Boredom:** Don't worry, I figured that I was gone far too long so I decided to update fast. Although this is the only spare time i have at the moment so yeah, here it is!

 **And now we got to the next chapter! Sadly, this will be short. But the good news is, when a chapter is short, the update is faster! -no promises *nervous chuckles***

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER EIGHT: TESTIFY**

Eren was locked up in an underground prison the moment he had returned inside the walls. Despite having good intentions by saving Armin, he was immediately branded as 'danger', 'threat' and 'enemy'. Not Mikasa or Reiner stopped the guards from seizing Eren. Not even Armin whom Eren saved, can stop the guards from taking him.

The 104th recruits are detained for questioning. The walls are being rebuilt as quickly as they could. And as if some miracle had happened, wherever the 'melting rock' came from became a huge help to hurry and fill the holes.

Armin and the others who were detained for questioning were summoned one by one into the Commander's office. While Armin wasn't called yet, he was sitting in a corner, thinking. He was making that serious face again, the face that he usually shows everyone when he was busy thinking of a genuine plan.. but this time his brows were furrowed because he was worried of Eren's fate.

 _If maybe I can testify for him.. maybe.. maybe it would be enough to convince them to let him go._

"Armin, do you know anything about this? About Eren?" Mikasa asked as she approached the blonde boy.

After seconds of silence, Armin decided to give her an answer. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you-?"

"Knowing the way you treat Eren, you would've prevented him to expose himself right? You'd limit him to do things he shouldn't and probably push him to train and tell him not to rely on his ability!" he yelled, he wasn't mad at her or anything, but out of frustration of what's about to happen to Eren. "I'm sorry."

Mikasa didn't take it personally though, "You're right." she says and sat beside him, also carrying a heavy burden on her shoulders. "I would do everything as you said." she admitted.

 _Other than that, Eren didn't want to involve you with a big secret like this. As far as I know, they could be figuring out who else knew of Eren's secret and consider them as accomplices._

The whole room only had whispers, soft chatters and mumbles. No one dared make too much noise or joke around. Not only because of Eren's exposure but because of the outcome of the Nightraid. Lives were taken and not just lives of people they don't know or the citizens they protect, but also the lives of those close to them. Nic Tius being one.

Jean being one of them, has been staring daggers at Armin for quite some time now.

"So Eren's..?" Marco asked. He noticed how much Jean is affected y the revelation and decided to ask about it himself. "..a Titan?"

"Yes." Armin didn't need to keep it from them anymore.

"So that coward's one of-!" Jean was about to come up with another of his negative comments at Eren but then Armin cuts him off.

"He's not a bad guy! Eren never used his abilities for something bad and he never will! He planned to use it for humanity's benefit and for his own gain!" Armin clarified to all of those who were thinking it wrong about Eren, especially Jean. "And if you don't know Eren like I do then you have no right to judge him!"

Keeping Jean shut speechless, Armin sat back down his seat and kept quiet.

 _Maybe I talk too much.._

After hours of waiting, Connie and the others had already left the detainment room, leaving only Armin, Jean, Mikasa and Annie inside. Reiner had just exited the interrogation room and gave Mikasa a worried look.

"Eren doesn't sound to have a good life after this." he says and Mikasa's attention was caught, her eyes darted at him, her body tensing up.

"Why? What did they say about Eren?" Mikasa inquired with a sound of desperation to know his condition.

"I heard they're handing him to Hanji-san for a little experimentation, but if the King declares for his execution, they have no choice but to comply." Reiner replied. Mikasa was enraged with this, getting reckless all of the sudden, grabbing the hilt of her blade and stomped towards the interrogation room but Jean was quick himself and grabbed her by the arm.

"Don't." he said sternly. "You'll make things worse for him and yourself." he didn't want to add the last part but it's the reason he's stopping her from doing what she's planning to do. He cares deeply for Mikasa..

 _How could they just judge for Eren's fate like that? Don't they see that he's not a mindless and evil Titan?!_

Armin kept quiet about the matter, but deep inside his mind was filled with angry thoughts and comments about how unfair the Military were against Eren. He didn't even notice a certain blonde sitting next to him after Mikasa left.

"Thinking of a good book to quote for your friend?" she asked, immediately snapping Armin out of his angry mind.

"U- Uh not entirely."

"So you're not entirely focused of saving him from his terrible fate?" the blonde continued to ask. Armin was relieved she was confident to speak freely to him now.

"Well.. there are other mysteries that happened that same night. Like where those melting rocks came from, or that huge Titan or how the Titans are able to ambush us and follow Captain Levi back here.. there's so many mysteries!" he says.

"Considering these are all big-shot mysteries, they're not big enough to trample Eren's case." the blonde points out and Armin was surprised to hear her speak her mind. He knows she is not ashamed to speak but usually when she does, she brings out the bad side of things but now she seems to be hinting him something.

"Annie.. can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Since I kept this whole Titan shifting a secret from all of you.. what do you think of me?"

The small blonde blinked for a moment there, letting his question sink in. Armin thought that she probably misunderstood and was about to add a follow-up sentence but then she hushed him with a finger on his lips.

"I understand why you kept that a secret so I won't hold it against you." she replied. "Everyone here keeps a secret. It's not dangerous when you tell others, it's more dangerous when others find out before you tell them."

"Arlert you're up!" Shadis calls and Armin was startled with the sudden call. He turned to Shadis then back to Annie, as if trying to decide what to do but Annie just nodded at him, almost as if 'permitting' him to do what he must. And so ran inside the interrogation room.

Upon entering, he sat down the chair and gulped. Being the center of attention of hot stares from someone like Levi and Erwin makes him shiver from top to bottom. But he kept his cool, tried.

"Armin Arlert, recruit from 104th Trainee Squad, are you aware of Eren Jaeger's Titan shifting ability?" Erwin asked.

There was no point in lying. He knew that.

"Yes." the blonde boy replied.

"And you kept it a secret, why?"

Armin knew that every word he says will count either as a fair help to help Eren with his case or make it worse so he has to be very careful with what he says. Taking a deep breath, he began speaking, "Because if I told anyone, especially the higher ups, they would judge Eren as one of them. Especially that Eren have no control of this ability yet."

"And do you think that keeping this a secret would help Eren nurture his abilities? Let alone convince us to believe that he's on humanity's side." Erwin continued to press.

"No. In fact we were wrong to keep it a secret. A friend told me that a secret is not dangerous when the truth came from myself but when the truth is found out by someone else, it becomes dangerous."

Erwin leans back on his seat and looks up at Levi.

"Well tell your friend to tell you about that freaking belief sooner, maybe that would've helped us prevent all these deaths." Levi said harshly and Armin nodded. "tch."

"Thank you for your time, you are dismissed." Erwin says.

"Sir.. can I ask what will happen to Eren now?" Armin took the guts to ask.

"His fate will depend on the trial tomorrow. Be sure to be there for your friend." Erwin's only words for him. And Armin is led out of the interrogation room by Shadis. Shadis then calls out Annie's name and Annie and Armin had a short eye contact before passing by each other.

At the day of the trial, Armin and the rest of the 104th trainee squad testified on Eren's behalf, telling everyone about the good side of things about Eren.

"..Eren's always been in humanity's side! And now he's given an ability to actually be able to help humanity win! And that ability is to become a Titan shifter!" Armin ended his speech.

"And what if he has no control over his Titan body?" one of the audience present asked.

"He HAS control over it! And it was proven twice now! Back at the Field Test.. without him and his Titan ability Reiner's squad would've received a casualty!" there was no helping it, his secret will be exposed. Their secret. Majority gasped at the revelation. "Yeah, we _cheated_ our way to victory on that test! And the second time is when Eren jumped to save me when I fell over the wall."

Murmurs and whispers filled the place.

"Even if he has control over his body, how do we know that he won't begin to feel the hunger and eat us humans?" another person asked.

"What if he gradually becomes a real Titan and cannot change back into his human form?"

THe questions had bombarded Armin that he wasn't sure how to answer. It was then that Levi stepped up front and suddenly kicked Eren's ass. Stepping on his face, he faced the ground.

"Eren Jaeger is the Survey Corps' prisoner until he graduates. He is a useful asset for us and if ever he poses a threat I'll kill him myself." he announced. "So if anyone has problems with that, you answer to me."

With that, everyone kept quiet. This is LEVI they're talking to.

Eren lifts his face up and glared at Levi who returned his glare twice as intense. He said nothing and left as soon as the trial was over. Armin helped Eren up and went with him until his detainment room to talk to him.

"Who does that darned captain think he is!?" Eren yelled in fury as soon as the door closed.

"Captain Levi saved your life. If he didn't do what he did, you would've been executed right there!" Armin defends.

"Armin.."

"Things are out of control and we've reached a level we cannot handle. That's why we're going to need someone like Captain Levi to help us." Armin says and Eren understood. He calmed himself down and sat on the cement floor.

"Thank you. For standing up for me." Eren says, deciding to change the topic.

"You did the same for me." the blonde boy reminded him.

"That's what friends are for."

The two laughed. It took a few more minutes before Armin was called because visiting hours were over. He left with ease knowing Eren will be alright. Tomorrow will be a big day. They're graduation.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx**

Yeah, kinda boring. It just matters a bit to put that up. Anyway, heads up! After that we will move on to Graduation, also short then another chap that this time is about love and then back to action! Remember those three chaps okay? Consider them as 'soon' trailer *laughs*. Thanks for reading! 'Til next time!


	10. Chapter IX: Graduation Decision

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: August 24, 2016- Wednesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Ultimate Boredom:** Heyya! I was glad to see you review, really reminds me to update sooner *chuckles*. I'm not sure if I told you this but your review keeps me going. Don't want to go all mushy, but that's a confession *laughs*. I'm happy that you find the conversations good. It's what I use to make up for the not-so-good fighting scenes actually. My skill in writing on that area is still not perfected yet *laughs*. And yeah, you can actually write and rant all you want when you review, makes me smile when I read your feedback. Without further ado, let's start!

 **So this chapter will also be short. *scratches the back of my head* maybe I should've just merged this chap with the trial. It's just, the chap will have like two different scenes and I'm not gonna write a "Later, they graduate" and skip it. So we'll go back to being slow-paced mode again. Auright? Hope you guys don't get bored. If so, please let me know.**

 **Expect the next update but not too much. *nervous chuckle***

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER NINE: GRADUATION DECISION**

Right after Eren was released from his detainment room, he returned with the rest of the 104th Trainee Squad to continue his training. He's a prisoner of the Survey Corps- of Levi- until he graduates. It wasn't much of an issue for him, but he was nervous.. anxious.. what will happen to him after he graduates? Will he be taken by any of the Military? Accepted? What about the people? What will they think of him?

He couldn't say. He couldn't conceive.. the future.. his fate..

Mikasa noticed him but was hesitant to talk to him. She realized just back then that Eren doesn't trust her .. he didn't trust her well enough to share his secret with her. It wasn't because she's a stranger.. he knew her well enough that he was able to predict what she would've done if she knew the secret. Yeah, she believes Eren knew her already.

"Eren.." she mumbled and glanced at the bothered brunette boy. 'Please.. I want you to trust me too.' she thought.

Jean, who was sparring with Marco, suddenly lost his focus when his eyes drifted somewhere- to be specific, towards Mikasa. Marco was able to get a clean hit on his face, knocking him down. Jean didn't even realize that Marco was about to hit him until he did. His mind suddenly had a million thoughts about Mikasa.. he wanted to know why she cared so much for Eren, why she'd frown every time she looks at Eren but sometimes she'd smile like she never smiled before. Jean didn't understand. Why was Mikasa heavily affected by Eren? What is he to her?

Yes, Jean was jealous. Along with those million thoughts was his desire to be able to do what Eren couldn't.. or what he thinks Eren couldn't..

"Jean?"

'Mikasa.. I'd never.. I'd never hurt you like he is.. that darned Eren, making you worry like this..!'

"Jean? Are you alright?" Marco asked again.

Jean got back to reality and turns to Marco who was looking really worried. Jean cursed himself mentally when he realized he made a promise not to allow himself to worry Mikasa but then here his best friend is worried.

"Yeah." he said but refuses to look Marco in the eye. But Marco was able to read him easily.

"Listen," Marco starts and sits beside Jean, "if there's something in your mind, I'm here to listen."

"W- What are you saying you idiot? Let's spar!" Jean got back on his feet and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "Man, you got me good back there." he says and stretched his arm, massaging his cheek that Marco hit.

"Jean.."

"Come on! Don't be such a wuss! I'm ready for another round!"

Marco chuckled and stretched his hand towards Jean, asking for his help. Jean smiled and helped his friend up before they got back to sparring.

When it was time for lunch, everyone went to the lunchroom and take a break. Armin, who was sitting beside Eren had been bothered by something. Something he's been meaning to ask..

"Say Eren.. after we graduate.. where will you join?" Armin asked.

"I'm not sure. I wanted to join the Survey but with my situation right now.. I'm not certain that I'd make the cut." he replied as he stared at his soup.

"Captain Levi finds you a useful asset, I'm sure he'll accept you the moment you step forward!" Mikasa cheered up. It was unlikely for her to say things to him but she wants to earn his trust.. she wants to be someone that Eren trusts..

"Thanks Mikasa."

"Geez Eren you never learn!" Jean spoke up, his face expressing irritation. "Humanity is needing someone with a 'sense of purpose', meaning _you_." he said, remembering that he heard the higher ups talking about it before.

"Yeah, I heard Keith-san talking with Captain Levi about it!" Connie confirmed.

"No doubt they'd take you with them, Eren." Krysta added with a big smile on her face. Eren felt at ease at their encouragements, but also, Krysta was very _bright_ at the moment so he looks away.

"Hey! Krysta just said something to you!" Ymir shouts.

"T- Thank you Krysta!" he responded, knowing Ymir will blab all night if he doesn't say the magic words.

"Ymir it's okay. He didn't have to!" said the gentle blonde.

"He needs to learn his lesson of course!"

"Well if Eren is joining the Survey Corps, what about the rest of us?" Marco asked, seizing the moment. Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Marco observed their facial expressions carefully then turned to Jean. "Jean?"

"I'd join the Military Police but.. I find the Survey Corps more interesting." he said but tried to sound bored.

"Cool me too!" Marco scoots closer to Jean, placing an arm over his shoulder, patting him repeatedly. "I thought for sure you'd aim to join the MP!"

"But didn't you say you'd join MP and protect the King?" Jean asked, remembering when he first Marco, he said that he'd want to protect the King. Marco chuckled.

"I did. But seeing what the Survey Corps could do.. I was inspired!" he exclaimed. "I have to admit that joining the MP was an option because a part of me believed that I will be away from the Titans.. that I'd be safe. But seeing everyone.. Eren.. Mikasa.. you.. the Survey.. none of you backed down when the Titans appeared. I want to have the same courage."

"Heh, I don't know to you, but I've been rooting for Survey ever since I got here!" Connie bragged.

"Really? I heard that Garrison was an option for you!" Sasha argued. "And besides, I'm joining the Survey too!"

"I don't remember saying that, you pig!"

"What did you call me?!"

Connie felt that he 'shrunk' from his seat and pushes his plate towards Sasha, as if a peace offering. The growling teenager's hostile presence faded almost immediately at the sight of the offered meal. She began to drool as her eyes sparkled and snatched the bread and meat from the plate. Connie knew he had to sacrifice something if he wanted to calm down the hunter.

"You got used to it, huh?" Jean says, noticing how often Connie had 'offered' his meal to Sasha.

"Nah, I can get more." the boy with the shaved head replied.

"Oh speaking of joining the Survey, what about you Armin?" Eren asked, turning to his blonde friend and Mikasa. "What about you Mikasa?"

"I'm joining the Survey as well." Mikasa replied almost quickly.

"Me too." Armin followed.

"Really? You guys?" Eren blinked. Shocked. Although he expected the two to join Survey, he was still surprised. As if he thought they'd change their mind after the nightmare of the nightraid. "What about you Reiner? Bertholdt?"

"We're joining the Survey of course!" Reiner exclaimed. "The 104th Squad stays together!"

"Yeah." Bertholdt agreed.

"Then let's toast for it!" Eren proposed as he stood up and raised his cup. But then he lowered it a bit, thinking that not everyone had decided yet. "Everyone will join the Survey, right?"

"We're right with you, Eren!" Krysta said with a smile, lifting her cup as well.

"You're not the only one who wants to save humanity." Ymir says and raised her own cup. Armin and the others followed.

"104th Trainee Squad.. we will be soldiers after tonight.. and by then we won't be just boys and girls.. we will be men and women with responsibilities as Survey Corps soldiers.." Eren stated, inspired to give the group a speech, remembering what Shadis told them the first day. "All for humanity, All for the Survey, who are we?!"

As Eren took lead, raising his cup higher, everyone followed, standing up as well and raising their cups, and everyone yelled in unison, "WE ARE THE 104TH TRAINEE SQUAD!"

However, what these recruits missed out was that there was one of them that wasn't present. Only Armin noticed.

When everyone was asleep, Armin snuck out of his room and went to the same place where he and Annie usually have a talk at night. He wanted to know..

"You missed dinner." he said when he saw her sitting on the same barrel as before.

"I didn't. You just didn't see me." the small blonde replied. She caught Armin speechless regarding the matter. Armin has other questions though.

"So which part of the Military are you joining?" he asked.. he wanted to know.

"Military Police." she replied and hopped down the barrel.

"Military Police? Why?"

"I want to live." her only reply as she starts to walk away but Armin didn't let her. There has to be more than 'I want to live'.

"You're a great soldier, Annie. I don't understand." he says after grabbing her hand and not letting go. Annie didn't look him in the eyes and kept her back facing him.

"Every soldier has a goal. An inspiration. A sense of purpose. But most of all, every soldier has fears." the small blonde replied and tried to yank her hand back but Armin didn't budge. It only tightened..

"And what is your fear?"

She sensed that Armin was serious and so she decided to face him, her blue eyes locked on his. Deep inside she was wondering what was the information for him? Why was he asking? She couldn't comprehend. She couldn't read him. Even back then.. when they were kids.. he would try to ask her things.. personal questions.. what's in it for him?

"What's yours?" she threw the question back at him.

"What?"

"You're afraid to die, aren't you?" she said, trying to stir him up. "So am I." she continued. "But the difference between you and me, Armin, is that I'm a coward and you're not. Despite being afraid when Titans come, you didn't let it stop you from joining the Survey." she finished her answer and finally was able to pull her hand back. "Now there you have it. Goodbye."

Her last words as she left the blonde boy standing.

 _Annie.._

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx**

 **And by tomorrow, these guys will graduate! Hoorah! Just wait for the next chap then. The next chap will be.. well.. action? Kind of. They will exit the walls with Heichou! So stay stuned! Let me know what you guys think! Don't be shy!**


	11. Chapter X: What's Outside the Walls

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: A

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Oooh boy. Someone went MIA again. I have no excuses people but I'm sorry! Here is the latest chapter!**

 **It's time that the recruits explore the world outside the walls, along with Heichou and his group.**

 **Ultimate boredom:** That's alright, don't worry about the English or grammar, I'm not good at it myself since it's not my native language. And yeah, thanks again for being consistent but I got one month late all of the sudden xD. Got busy and all that. I'm also glad that you find the development good. Although I think I put too much, I just wanted to make up for the sucky fighting scenes. Still working on it. So yeah, here's the new chap, longest one so far. I'll try to update tomorrow because yeah, one month is kinda long.

 **CHAPTER TEN: WHAT'S OUTSIDE THE WALL**

"We're not going outside the walls with those brats! They're just going to be a nuisance!" Oluo says strongly in disagreement with Hanji's proposal.

"Who says they'll be a nuisance?" Hanji countered. "Between you and them, they did more than you back at the Nightraid event."

"That's because that Jaeger boy is a Titan!"

"I'm not talking about just Eren. I'm talking about the rest of 104th Squad!"

As the two argued about their expedition that will be held tomorrow, Levi was just at his seat with both feet planted above his desk, his arms crossed as he observed two of his comrades do what they do. He was bored but at the same time he was annoyed at the noise they're making. At least they weren't making a mess though.

"Say Heichou, whose side are you going to take?" Oluo decided to drift away from Hanji. He knew better than to debate with her.

"There _is_ no side." He says simply. But simple for him is sharply.

"What do you mean, Levi? Of course there are sides!" Hanji mimicked a whining tone to purposely annoy the captain.

"Sides that don't matter." He dropped both feet and got up his seat. "We're taking all the new recruits with us on this expedition. Erwin said that he sees something in them so now we're going to see that for ourselves if ever something happens on our exploration. Is that clear?" his words ended more with a period than a question mark.

Everyone was silent. Silently agreeing with Levi's instructions.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

The following day the expedition begins. The 39th expedition to be exact.

Levi, along with his squad, Hanji, Eren and the rest of the 104th squad traveled with horses. There are no stops until they reached and entered the opening of a forest. And pretty much with all this traveling, a certain someone would go hungry. Levi finally halted everyone by raising his hand to motion them to slow down and stop. Following his signal, everyone stopped their horses.

"We'll stay here for a while. Do a little investigation." Levi said as he faced his team.

"Investigation? For what?" Eren asked as his eyes looked around the place, seeing no sign of Titans or anything, just tall trees.

"This is where we have been to before the Nightraid. For some reason we were stuck here battling with Titans to prevent us from going back to the Walls in time." he explained as he got off his horse. Eren nodded. "Well, I'll leave you kids to clean up while we do the investigation."

"Clean up?!"

"Why are we going to clean?! We're soldiers too!" Jean wouldn't accept the orders easily. Levi stopped walking to face him with an intense glare. He may be small but boy his aura was too great for Jean to handle.

"If we send you to investigate and encounter Titans on the way, what would you do? You kill them? What if you can't? What if there's too many?" he said sharply and Jean knew that he needed to keep quiet on this one. "You think before you answer you stinking brat!" with that, the captain walked away, leaving the atmosphere so intense that no one spoke afterwards.

Hanji and Eren went into Hanji's camp so Hanji can study him a bit more. Leaving the new recruits behind to look after their camp, Jean waited 'til they got far before blowing off steam and kicking the kettle. (He ignored the fact that Hanji was still there).

"DARN IT ALL!"

"Jean, calm down will you?! We're trying to cook here!" Sasha scolds. And the only time she'd show authority is when it involves food.

"Yeah!" Connie echoed on her behalf.

"Don't you find this unfair?! We chose to be with them and help them BUT THEY WON'T LET US!" as soon as Sasha had returned the kettle with new water in it, Jean kicked it again. Sasha narrowed her eyes at him but he didn't apologize, he was too captivated with his anger to notice.

"Well maybe because you keep doing things you're not supposed to! Like wasting our resources!" she yelled at Jean as she got up to add to the rising tension between them. But this time, Connie said nothing and stared at the two.

"Guys, it's best to keep our voices down." Marco suggested calmly. If he were to raise his voice as well, then they'll all end up shouting. "I'm sure Captain Levi's words made sense earlier."

"HOW WILL WE LEARN IF WE DO NOTHING!"

"Keep yourself together big boy, we're not exactly doing _nothing_ , in fact, we're left here with a task to do." Ymir said to help him realize that all of them were working together to prepare for camp and to prepare to serve Levi's squad as soon as they get back, while he stands there and shout, even bothering the others.

"Ymir's right. We all have something to do here." Armin agreed, hoping Jean will be convinced that the majority knows their duty.

"Yeah but-!" Jean was about to retort but Reiner cuts him off.

"If you joined the Survey Corps to fight then that's good. But you should be aware that fighting isn't the only thing they do." Reiner stated and a few of them nodded in agreement with his statement. Jean gritted his teeth, his eyes glancing back and forth to Eren's location, who was again behaved and was doing none of the 'chores' the rest of them were doing... which will cause Jean's steam to blow up a bit more.

When he kept quiet for a moment, as if still thinking of something to throw at Reiner and the rest, Sasha and Connie left to refill their water supply.

Minutes after they left, Jean got something.

"Okay duties aside, but what about the fact that Eren is doing nothing that we do?! He's a RECRUIT JUST LIKE US, then WHY DOES HE GET SPECIAL TREATMENT?! Is it BECAUSE OF HIS TITAN SHIFTING ABILITIES?! Screw that!" He brought up another topic to argue about.

 _What's with Jean losing his cool all of the sudden? Is it because of what Captain Levi said to him?_

Armin wondered as he observed his whining comrade. Titans nearby would hear them because of it and everyone will be in trouble and later get scolded some more by Levi, which is not a good thing.

"EREN'S SENSE OF PURPOSE, EREN'S ABILITIES, EREN.. EREN.. EREN! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!"

Not being able to take his words, Mikasa got up from her post and smashed the tray she was holding, towards the ground, making a loud clang noise as it crashed. It didn't shatter but the noise was to catch their attention. Jean being one of them.

"What did Eren ever do to you?" she asked, her voice not shouting but her tone of anger and sternness was there. Her eyes almost like Levi's, it was intense! And she was looking at Jean- Jean's eyes! "Why is it that you always pick on him?" she asked again. Jean felt more and more pumped up... in a way.

 _Mikasa..._

Armin didn't want them to argue any further but if he stands up to talk right now with no good words to shut everyone up, he'll make the intense moment more tensed! He needed a few good words to deal with it. Moreover.. he was curious as to why Hanji, despite being nearby and in her tent, didn't seem to react with their argument. Was she not worried if Titans hear their voices and get attacked? Or was she too obsessed over Eren? Either way, Eren could've been the one to react if not Hanji. And yet... none of them were reacting.

 _Eren.._

"BECAUSE I'M JEALOUS!" Jean yelled his frustrations as he looked into the sky, "I'M JEALOUS OF EREN!" he repeated, his hands now over his face and his knees falling down the ground.

"Jean.." Marco muttered. He wanted to approach him but he felt that Jean wanted to be left alone for a while.

"Don't be." Mikasa said. Armin surely thought that Mikasa will act in some way to protect Eren and humiliate Jean to stop Jean from ever picking on Eren again but then Mikasa did the opposite of what Armin had thought. "You're a great person Jean." with those words Jean's agony had stopped. His hands slowly dropped so his eyes could see Mikasa who was now standing right in front of him.

 _I'm a great person?_ He wondered if he heard it right.

"I.. I am?"

"It's easier for a person to see something in someone than he sees something in himself." Mikasa said and boy did Armin's mouth had been left agape. Everyone else were just listening to her. "I learned that the hard way." she added and looks at the tent where Eren and Hanji were then to Armin then back at Jean. "I was angry at Eren because he didn't tell me about his secret and I didn't understand it. But Armin made me realize why. I was surprised that he can predict my actions that I didn't even know I'd do until I thought about it. Because they saw that part of me that I didn't know."

Mikasa doesn't talk. Barely does. She's not so bad in socializing or joking, especially when telling others Sasha farted, but that's not the point. No one knew what she was thinking other than 'she serves Eren because she owes him' but that's about it. But right now she spoke! A long one at that.

Jean was surprised himself. To hear someone he has a crush on to say something like that.. she cares. Despite his rude attitude towards Eren, she cares.

"Mikasa, I-"

"So let me tell you what I see in you. What Marco sees in you." Mikasa continued, not wanting to give the spotlight to Jean just yet. "You're the kind of person who isn't afraid of what others think of you. You speak your mind, not caring whether or not you will start a fight with someone else. It's bad in some ways but at least you're not someone who's full of secrets and lies..."

While Mikasa was talking, Armin immediately thought of someone. The small blonde who isn't present with them.

 _She's the type to keep secrets a lot.. it's like she's carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders..._ Armin thought.

"But above that attitude of yours is the side of you that cares about your comrades and your ability to lead."

"L- Lead? You think I can lead?" Jean asked, uncertain with that word being branded to him. Marco then stepped forward to take over.

"I think so too." he said. "In fact, I think that one day you'll lead us. It won't be Captain Levi's squad, but _you're_ squad. Jean's Squad." he says and Jean had never felt so flattered before... in a way that he's respected and admired. And he never knew that's what they thought of him.

"Marco.."

"You've been a bit of a jerk to Sasha earlier but you're still qualified for a leader." Mikasa added, remembering that Sasha was the closest victim of Jean's anger earlier. Reiner chuckled when the heavy atmosphere had been lifted.

"Well, well, you've got good words too, Mikasa." he says.

Blushing at his statement, she holds her scarf and puts if over her mouth to somehow cover up her blushing cheeks. "T- Thanks but all credit goes to Armin."

"And humble." Marco added to joke around, wanting the heavy atmosphere to completely fade. When everyone felt that it was gone, they begin to joke to each other again. Marco turned back to Jean who was still stupefied with what happened earlier. "You alright?"

"Marco.." his only words. Marco chuckled and pats his back hard.

"Dude you're blushing so hard!" he notifies Jean and Jean snaps back to the world and looks at Marco, still with a stupefied look. "Mikasa got you pretty good, huh?"

"W- What? I mean.. I.."

"Don't worry about it. I don't think anyone holds it against you since we're all questioning Captain Levi's orders as well." Marco assured his friend. Jean smiled at him and stretched his hand to him to ask for his help so he could stand up. Marco happily helped him. "Although I think you should apologize to Sasha."

"She's not mad." Jean said confidently and looked at the direction where the potato girl went. "She's just upset that she can't eat." It would sound like a joke but both of them know that's not the case.

While everyone was busy again, Mikasa sat beside Armin who was busy thinking about something.

"Something wrong?" Mikasa asked. Other than doing a good job, Mikasa seems to practice socializing some more.

"Hanji and Eren seems to be... quiet. _Too_ quiet in fact." he says as his eyes drifted back to the tent. "I know Hanji said we shouldn't disturb them but with her obsession and loud voice, it's impossible that thy're _this_ quiet. And even if we made all that ruckus, they still did nothing."

"Maybe they just chose to ignore it."

"Or... they're not there."

"We should've seen them leave if ever they did." Mikasa says, reminding Armin that the tent was north of their camp and it will be easily seen if someone had left the tent. Armin thought of it of course...

"But what if.. what if-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sasha screamed from a distance.

Everyone immediately got alerted and ran to their gears.

"That was Sasha!" Jean claimed and looks at everyone who was preparing themselves for battle.

"We're the one who made all the noise around here but we're not attacked?" Ymir wondered as she scratched her head.

"Geez Ymir! You want us to get attacked?" Jean asked rhetorically and Ymir shrugged. Probably wondering about the irony in the scene.

"We should notify Hanji-san before we go!" Armin told them, not wanting to leave out the authorities from knowing what they do. After all, they're just recruits at the moment. Bertholdt and Krysta ran towards the tent to notify Hanji but..

"No one's here." Bertholdt said.

"What?" Reiner says.

 _So I was right._ Armin thought. Mikasa was looking at him, seeing his 'I knew it' facial expression again, meaning that whatever his thoughts were, was right.

"Hey we need to help Sasha and Connie!" Samuel reminded them.

"Right, let's break into two groups. One group will stay here to protect the camp and the other will go for potato girl and Connie." Jean said with authority and everyone quickly dispersed to form groups.

It was then that Hanji and Eren came back, both were dripping wet. Hanji seemed to be in a good mood though, as she was humming when they arrived.

"Oh what's going on here?" she asked when she saw them all geared up. "Were we attacked?"

"Sasha and Connie needs help." Armin notifies them.

"What?" Eren said with worry.

"They left the camp?" Hanji wondered.

"Long story. But right now they need help!" Jean wanted to hurry things up a bit. Hanji seems calm despite the situation.

"But isn't that Sasha and Connie?" with Hanji's innocent and behaved visage, she points at the two idiots running towards the camp and Titans were right behind them. Everyone followed her finger that was pointed at them and saw them running like lunatics.

"Those idiots!" Jean yelled. "They led them to our camp!"

"At least they're safe." Marco says and eyed the Titans. "Nothing dangerous though, we can take them."

"Well go on recruits. Kill them all!" Hanji says, giving them permission to do as they wish. Her hands on her hips. And a smile on her face. "You too Jaeger."

"M- Me? But Levi said-"

"I know what Levi said. But wouldn't you be left out if they will fight and you'll just stay here and watch?" she says and winked at him. Eren smiled and lowered his head a bit with gratitude as he rant to gear up as well. Running towards his comrades. But Jean blocked his path.

"What?" Eren asked in wonder. Jean seems to want to say something.

"Eren.. let's work together, okay?" Jean says. Eren didn't exactly know what happened but he had a feeling that somehow, Jean is going to be a close friend who has his back from that day onwards.

"Yeah. We can start today."

" _Yosh_! Let's kill the Titans!" the two said in unison and they started to slash and kill.

Sasha and Connie panted as they dropped down on the ground beside Hanji who was watching in amusement as the recruits killed the Titans without a problem.

"H- Han..ji..-san..." Sasha tried to say between breaths.

"You can take a break, recruit. No need to fight if you can't." Hanji says but Sasha shook her head.

"Ti..tans... ti- titans... baby... titans..." she continues to say as she pointed at the direction where they came from.

"Baby Titans?" Hanji tried to form something out of those fragmented words. "What do you mean?"

"We.. we saw.. baby.. ti..tans..." Connie finished for Sasha and Hanji froze. Her mind formulating millions of experiments already. She left to grab her gear and while wearing it, she looks at the two.

"Grab your gear recruits." she orders and later joins the fight. She was crazy in her own fighting style but pretty much effective when killing in a rush. Eren and the others were surprised but at the same time in awe. The Titans were many but they're not anything harmful.

Levi and his squad later arrived to see the finished battle.

"What the heck?!"

"Heichou.. I have good news for you." Hanji says with a gruesome smile on her face.

* * *

After telling everyone about what Sasha and Connie saw, Hanji has been more active in meetings and most importantly, excited and demanding to see it at once.

"How do we even know these two aren't making it up?" Oluo says but Sasha and Connie both narrowed their eyes at him.

"We're not delusional when we saw it." the two says and Oluo shrugged.

"Alright, we're going there now." Levi decided.

* * *

When they've arrived at said location, they found a dead pregnant woman whose upper half was human but the lower half is a Titan. It was as if she was in the middle of transforming when she died. But why did the transformation stop? Shouldn't she end up going back to life as a Titan?

Her womb was open and spilling guts and blood. She seems to be wearing a white nightgown as well.

"This is cruel." Krysta muttered and Ymir pulls her away from the scene.

"I guess the babies crawled away." Levi said sarcastically and looked at the duo who saw the supposedly baby Titans.

"They were right here! They were crying and they were trying to wake up their dead mom!" Connie continued to press.

"We thought they were humans at first so we approached them but when we did they started to shriek and then the countless mindless Titans came!" Sasha added to support Connie's statement.

Mikasa turned to Armin and Eren who were both having a very worried look but quiet about the matter.

"Well, we can only report this back to base. We can pack up the body but we need to be careful because it's rotten." Levi gave his orders. "We should hurry back inside the walls."

Hanji was pretty much disappointed about it and so she walked sluggishly on their way back.

* * *

 **And cut! This is the new update, hope you enjoy! I'll try to update sooner again when I have free time. I made this long enough to last for tomorrow.**


	12. Chapter XI: Protecting Wall Maria

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: September 24, 2016- Saturday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Okay as I "not promised" but will try, I will update today's new chapter! Hopefully I get more free time in future days and update some more. For now, we only got this. Kinda more of a mystery and seriousness but... yeah.**

 **And this will be longer than the rest! I don't know what happened o.O, I just kept typing and BAM!**

 **Ultimate boredom:** Wow you reviewed kind of fast! And you already got an account! That's great! Anyway, yeah, it was hard to come up with it but here it is! I hope you continue to enjoy the story! This fic lives! *laughs* Nah, not dead. As long as my FFnet account continuously updates its profile, I am still active but shifts to update other fics. Anyway, nice to hear from you again, here's the new one!

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN: PROTECTING WALL MARIA**

When they got back inside the Walls, the report was made almost immediately. The recruits were again left to wait outside the meeting room, excluding the two nutheads who claimed to have seen "baby Titans" when they were on their way to fill up their water supply. Hanji most definitely defended the two, almost certain that the theory of "Baby Titans" being born is true.

"How many baby titans did you two see exactly?" Erwin asked.

"W- Well.." Sasha scratched her cheek with a finger as she thought about it. "1.. 2.. about four of them at least."

"Four? I thought there were five of them!" Connie says and counted again with his fingers to assure himself. "There's five of them! Five!"

"Five? I remember seeing four!" Sasha however won't lose.

"Okay, whether it's four or five, is there anything else you can say about them? Anything you noticed?" Erwin decided to let the numbers be approximate. His stare towards them was ever casual but his aura was emitting a somewhat serious one.

"They're like babies." Sasha replied. "They're naked and all." she says as she tried to drift back into her memories.

"But they're bigger than a natural infant!" Connie exclaims and tried to show Erwin the size with both of his hands a meter from each other. "Something like this."

"Connie I think that's too big!" Sasha complained.

"Eh? Then why won't you do it!"

Before the two could argue again, Erwin cleared his throat to catch their attention. The two knows fear, the two knows authority but the two doesn't know when to be serious.. at least as Erwin could say. Levi was just rolling his eyes as he listened to the ridiculous debriefing while Hanji was quietly fangirling to here more.

"Anything else other than their physical size being odd?" Erwin continued to ask.

"Oh there's also the fact that their skin aren't pale. It's almost as if they're not Titans." Connie says. "I remember touching one of them by accident. It was kinda soft, like a living human flesh." He says and stared at his right hand that touched the Baby Titan.

"But they can't be normal humans! They have fangs and their cries called out to the Titans!" Sasha added.

"Their cries?"

"Yeah. When they cried, a few moments later a legion of Titans came at us!" Sasha was exaggerating but Erwin got the point. He nodded at her as he thought about what to do next. He got information he's never had before, he got assets that he's never had before too.

 _This is getting interesting.. 104th Squad.._

He thought with a smirk hidden behind his two intertwined fingers where his chin lay. He eyed Levi who caught his gaze. Levi saw the smirk in his face despite the cover and he knew that Erwin was somewhat interested in the new recruits.

"And these baby Titans didn't eat their dead mother, correct?" Erwin asked and the two nodded. "They also cried by her side without even knowing she's already dead, just like what normal human infants would do, correct?" He asked again and the two responded with nods. "Was her womb already opened by the time you got there?"

"We didn't really see." Connie said. "The baby Titans were crowding around her front."

"Yeah but when they turned and cried at us, I glanced at her womb. It wasn't cut open or anything. In fact I think it still has a baby inside." Sasha says, remembering that she had a glimpse of the womb before they ran.

"Assuming that there _is_ a baby inside, there will be five or six baby Titans now, correct?" Erwin asked and the two replied with a soft 'yes'. "Well then it's settled. We will start an investigation and a search party regarding these baby TItans." Erwin decided as he leaned back to his seat, his eyes glancing up at Levi again who understood what was in his mind.

"YES!" Hanji threw her fist in the air as if she won a million-dollar bet.

"Hanji's in-charge of this operation, however, you should always be accompanied by any of the 104th recruits." Erwin strictly said and the woman bobbed her head repeatedly as she glided towards the two and putting an arm over both their necks.

"No problem Commander!" she said happily.

"Well then, this meeting is-" Levi steps up all of the sudden and cuts Erwin off. The meeting isn't over yet.

"I want to propose something." he says.

"Levi.. what do you want to propose?" Erwin, who was in an interestingly good mood, listened to what he has to say.

"That brat, Eren Jaeger.. I want to see his potential by sending him off to an experiment operation." he says. He knew either way Erwin will agree. "With his Titan shifting ability, we can try and retake Shiganshina."

"Hmm. True. But where do we test his ability before sending him off to save humanity?" Erwin will agree that's for sure, but he wants to know if Levi himself is convinced of what he's saying.

"Wall Maria has some problems recently about the Titans attacking. He can go help out on all those vulnerable sides while we finish to rebuild everything." Levi said and Erwin nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright. Take the recruits with you on this operation, give them a bit of experience." Erwin says. And of all people present in the meeting, only Levi understood what he wanted to achieve, however, he doesn't know why.

* * *

As soon as news reached the 104th Squad, they jumped in joy when Erwin himself had suggested to bring them along on both operations.

"This is great!"

"They finally noticed us!"

"Then this means we should work even harder!"

They echoed over and over. They congratulated themselves.. Connie and Sasha of course were one of those who they were flattering since their involvement with the baby Titans is quite big. Because they were the ones who SAW them. Despite being idiots at times, the two are quite useful.

"Well Jean, if it wasn't for your tantrums the other day, the two idiots wouldn't have found those baby Titans!" Reiner teased and Jean remembered everything that happened that day. Like a quick flashback of what they did.

"S- Shut up!"

"While all of us panicked as we prepare ourselves, you went ahead and led us." Marco told him and again, more memories flashed before Jean's eyes.

"Quit it." Jean says almost shyly but was hiding it by using his rudeness. He looks away and Marco chuckles. Typical Jean.

"Eren, it's also your day to shine!" Connie says.

"Y- Yeah." Eren was still getting used to the new treatment. After all, he was a Titan, they began to be aloof then defended him at the trial but afterwards he was given a special treatment by the Survey Corps so Hanji could study him, he didn't have time to do chores with his comrades and felt distant. And yet here they are, still supporting him.

 _No need to be distant, Eren. We're the 104th Squad._

He told himself and slowly, the smile he usually gives off was there again. That bright smile.

"Who are we again?!" Reiner stirred up.

"104TH SQUAD!" everyone said in unison.

"WHO ARE WE?!" Eren took over and everyone got more energy than before as they yelled.

"104TH SQUAD!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Eren continued the stirrup that Reiner started.

"104TH SQUAD!" they continued to shout out in unison, their voices louder than before.

 **"** **WE ARE...?"**

 **"104TH SQUAD!"**

 **"WE ARE...?"**

 **"104TH SQUAD!"**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

* * *

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _Yeah, we were pretty happy back then. We were very happy. Very joyful, very hopeful, full of energy... it was almost as if we're not soldiers of the Survey Corps because of our unnatural joy despite being in the line of death. Our smiles.. our laughs.. amazing. Probably it's something that others would admire but others would say that it won't last for long. And those others were right._

 _Just as we began the operation to train Eren and ourselves.. we found ourselves overwhelmed with a huge number of Titans._ Armin thought.

"THOMAS!" Jean screamed as he tried to reach his comrade's hand.

"JEAN!" cried the trembling Thomas. He was desperate to reach Jean's hand.

Thomas was covered in blood, his right leg could no longer move, his left ankle's flesh was no more. The two were on top of the walls because they were helping the Garrisons in Trost. Both their 3D Maneuver Gears were out of gas since they've been using it since they got there. Jean himself was wounded. His right arm was broken and if he were to take Thomas' hand, he could fall with him.

Right below them were Titans who were waiting for them like sharks.

Jean didn't want to let him fall to his death. He saw the fear in Thomas' eyes. The fear to die. Everyone fears so. He knew how it feels.. just as Marco and Mikasa said.. he's the type of leader that knows how his comrades feel. That's why.. that's why..

"THOMAS I WON'T LET YOU DIE LIKE THIS!" Jean yelled and crawled closer to the edge to reach for Thomas' hand.

He got it!

"Jean.." Samuel said and sniffed.. he realized one thing that Jean haven't. "..Jean I don't want to die.. but you have to.. you have to let me go."

"Don't be ridiculous! We're in this together!" Jean scolds him, his hand gripping tightly on Thomas'.

"There's no way you can pull us both together!" He yelled at Jean despite the tears in his eyes that contradicts his will to be released. "I can't climb up.. I can't move my legs.." he said and sobbed. "You'll fall if you try."

"This is our home, darn you! We can't die here without protecting it from those rotten corpses!" Jean continued to encourage his comrade.

 _There's no way! There's no way I'd let him go! I.. I can.._

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE TOO! BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE A BURDEN TO OTHERS SO PLEASE...! JUST LET ME GO!" Thomas shouts at him but still he was crying. He didn't want to die. Jean knew that. He didn't want to meet an end like that. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the Titans as they devour him when Jean releases him.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE KIDDING WITH?!" Jean decided to use a different approach. If Thomas had settled his mind to die despite his body trembling in contradiction to his words, Jean has also settled his mind to save him no matter what.

"Jean?" Thomas opened his eyes when he felt that his hand lifted up from leaning on the wall's edge.

"I may not have any Titan shifting abilities, I'm not as strong as Reiner either but I don't need those to save you!" Jean was shouting as he grunted and panted while trying to pull Thomas up with one hand.

"Jean don't! You-!"

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU STUPID COMRADE, I'M NOT DONE YET!" Jean continued to shout and again lifts Thomas another inch up. Both legs were shaking as he forced himself to lift Thomas up, his other hand just hanging by his side. "I don't need those to save you.. because I AM JEAN KIRSTEIN, A MEMBER OF 104TH SQUAD, A SOLDIER OF SURVEY CORPS, A BOY WHOSE HOMETOWN IS TROST.. And guess what, you live in Trost too! You're not just my comrade.. you're also family!"

"Jean.." Thomas just kept his silence cries to himself as he used his other hand to reach up at the edge of the wall to help Jean pull him up.

"GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jean yelled out loud in the sky as he used all his strength to fully bring half of Thomas' body over the wall. Jean fell backwards and kept holding Thomas' hand. It didn't end there. Jean sat up and used his knees to stand as he tried to pull the rest of Thomas above the wall. "Aaaah!"

With one final pull, Thomas survived the fall. The two panted and Jean fell on his back, exhausted.

"Jean-"

"You're too heavy for an average soldier." Jean comments in between breaths. "Don't eat too much next time." He joked despite panting.

Thomas only smiled and lay his head on the cold cement wall just like Jean is. "Yeah, I'll take a diet." he says. "But Jean, thank you." When Jean didn't reply, he turned to him to see that he fell asleep. "i'll protect you this time." He said and forced himself to sit up using both hands and reached for Jean's blades lying on the side.

* * *

But they're not the only one who were in trouble.

"EREN!" Armin cried out. Eren's Titan form was being overpowered by the rest of the Titans. They were too many in number. And Eren wasn't skilled enough. Eren only growled in response.

"We need to help him!" Mikasa suggests in desperation to help.

"We can't get in between them." Armin tells her. "At times like this, Eren's adrenaline goes up and will not hold back. You might caught up in between."

"But-!"

"The only thing we can do is find the entrance and source of the Titans."

"But how do we find it?" Krysta asks.

 _I'm not sure myself..._ Armin thought to himself. But then.. "I got it!"

"That was fast." Ymir muttered.

"Rotten bodies!" Armin says. "Titans follow the scent of rotten bodies. It's a part of their senses that they follow the most."

"What do you want us to do, carry our dead comrades around?" Ymir asked sarcastically.

"Well.. yes. I mean, we need to lead them in one place. A trap perhaps." Armin says. "While doing that, another team will be investigating the walls to see for the entrance. I mean, there's too many of them, there has to be one big entrance."

"But I thought the melting rocks already blocked the big holes on the walls?" Krysta remembered.

"It's either the melting rocks missed some spot or someone made another hole." Armin said, he himself remembering the fact that there are bigger Titans out there. And most probably, more Titan shifters.

"Alright, let's do this!" Krysta said.

"We should tell Captain Levi and the rest so they can help us." Armin says and everyone nodded.

"I should stay and help Eren." Mikasa volunteers to stay while the rest leaves to tell the plan to Levi and the others.

* * *

"This plan of yours.. it sounds-"

"AMAZING!" Hanji interjects and Levi rolled his eyes at her. She's gone hyper ever since the Baby Titans theory. "Let's do it!"

"Alright. Notify the Garrisons and Military Police as well. We'll be needing more reinforcements for this." Levi says.

"Yes sir!" Oluo and the rest of his squad said.

"They will handle the traps while we handle the rotten corpses." Levi said.

"And don't forget to take captives! I want to look closer into them!" Hanji interjects yet again.

"Yeah, yeah. Go and help them with the traps if you want." Levi decided to permit Hanji to join the trap preparation to keep her quiet.

* * *

"FRANZ!" Hanna called to her beloved Franz.

"HANNA!" Connie and Sasha pulls her away from Franz.

"NO FRANZ!" Hanna however struggled from their grip and tried to reach for Franz who was being devoured by the Titans. "We need to save him! We need to save him! We can't leave him like this!"

"He's dead Hanna!" Connie tells her despite it's the obvious.

"NOOOOO!" She struggled all the more and hits the two with her fists, her legs kicking and kneeing.

"Ow, hey!" Sasha whined when she got hit in the nose. She then turned to Connie. "Hey, we're going to die if she continues to slow us down. We need a new plan."

"Yeah but she's a strong one. I can't carry her all the way." Connie tells her.

"FRANZ! Don't die!" said the hysterical Hanna.

Sasha had no choice, she grabbed a loaf she's been keeping with her and put it on Hanna's mouth to keep her from talking and making some noise. Connie's jaw dropped as he watched Sasha put that bread in her mouth and slaps Hanna. Hard. Hanna stopped her hysterical cries in shock.

"We have no time to lose! Franz is dead and we all know that! As much as we want to stick together, we have to choose between living and dying!" Sasha yells at her. "So which is it going to be? I'm sure Franz will choose to live and your memory will forever be with him if he's in your position!"

When Hanna was frozen and stunned, Sasha motioned for Connie to help her drag Hanna away from Franz's dead body and run to safety.

"Wow you've got balls doing that." Connie compliments.

"Heehee~" replied the brunette with a grin in her face.

But while running, the three had a glimpse of a huge Titan from the other side of the street. It had some sort of armor over it and it was about fifteen feet tall. Smoke had surrounded it, steaming smoke.

"W- What the heck is that?!" Connie screamed and Sasha hits him over his shaved head. "HEY!"

"Quit making too much noise! It didn't even see us!" she scolds. But then it was the delusional Hanna's turn to glance up. She snapped out of staring in nothingness and noticed the shadow of a Titan.. when she saw it..

"Aaaaaagh!" she screamed muffled screams and both Connie and Sasha pushes the bread in her mouth to keep her quiet.

"H- Her scream wasn't that loud right?" Connie asked the brunette whose eyes were locked on the Armored Titan's.

"I- It's turning at us." she said with fear and trembling as she pointed at the Armored Titan who was slowly turning to face them.

"RUN!" Connie yelled and the two pulls Hanna to follow their lead and run the other way. The Armored Titan growled and ran their way. Chasing after them. "It's after us!"

"Does your 3DMG still work?" Sasha asked Connie after she checked that hers is out of gas.

"Yeah. What about you Hanna?" they turned to Hanna who seemed to be on autopilot. She was running with them but again her mind was drifting somewhere. "Sheesh!" Connie reached for her 3D Maneuver Gear and removed it from her.

"What are you doing?! Don't touch her!" Sasha chided.

"I'm not groping her you stupid idiot! I'm going to carry her and use my 3D Maneuver Gear to get away. You use hers and fly the other way." He says and threw Hanna's 3DMG towards Sasha.

"R- Right."

"Come on Hanna." Connie said and pulled Hanna closer to him, his arm wrapped around her before using the 3DMG to swing to a rooftop on the Armored Titan's left while Sasha planned to go right.. however.. Hanna's 3D Maneuver Gear wasn't even working.

"WHAT THE?!"

In fear of what's about to come next, Sasha stared at the Armored Titan in fear. She froze in place. And just as the Armored Titan was about to reach for her, someone grabbed her and they swung away. They reached far from the Titan before dropping Sasha.

"Why weren't you running?" asked the small blonde who saved her.

"ANNIE! Oh my gosh thank you, thank you!" she planned to hug her but Annie took a step back as if wary of what Sasha was about to do. "Geez, it's only a hug!" Sasha says and when Annie stopped walking backwards, Sasha proceeded with the hug.

"W- What for?" the small blonde inquired. She just stood there like a child as Sasha gave her the warm hug.

"You saved me of course! I know that you're with the Military Police now but you still came!" Sasha said, now sobbing. But then she realized something she just said and pulls away. "Wait, what is the MP doing here?"

"The Survey Corps called for some reinforcements. Most recruits are sent here to help." Annie replied.

"Oh is that so?"

"Ye-" before Annie could finish her reply, Sasha gave her another bear hug and only stopped when they heard the others screaming for help.

"Someone needs help." Sasha says. "We should go and help them!" She reached for Annie's hand and pulled her towards the direction of the screams. The small blonde began to wonder why despite the trembling earlier the brunette had quickly recovered as if nothing happened. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Oh uh, you should get a gear first. You can't fight without it." Annie got her composure back and Sasha chuckled. She totally forgot.

"Yeah. But we need to save Connie!" she remembered. "He and Hanna went to the left. That big Titan probably went after them!"

Annie wasted no time and grabbed Sasha, dropping her with the rest of the MP's for protection and recovery while she went in search for Connie and Hanna. And the Armored Titan.

* * *

While investigating, Armin was surprised to see rotten bodies inside the walls. As if they were planted there on purpose.

 _W- What is this?_

He and the rest of those who investigated cracked the walls open to find a several bodies that rotted inside the walls. The smell wasn't around until they opened it. With the Titans strong sense of smell when it comes to the rotten bodies, they probably got a hold of the scent despite being inside the walls.

"Looks like someone's been doing all of these without us knowing." Levi says.

"But who could do this?" Krysta asked.

"Mostly Garrisons are the ones over at this area." Levi replied. "Let's carry these bodies out the walls. Since it's old, it has to be the one they've been trying to find."

* * *

The Titans that they've gathered were right by the gate and all followed the squad that brought the rotten bodies outside the walls. Almost all the TItans went after them. But right after that Eren beat the crap out of all of them. When the fight was over, Armin approached Eren and asked.

"Why were you hesitating?"

"What do you mean? They were too many to handle." Eren justified but Armin knew better. Eren can handle the numbers..

"You were hesitating. Why?" he repeated and Eren knew he couldn't keep it forever.

"Before I transformed I had a glimpse of my mother.. she's already turned but.. what if we could cure her?"

"There's no cure and you know that."

"Baby Titans and Titan shifters are possible! But not a CURE?!" Eren yelled and left the room. Armin knew he was upset. It was normal. He couldn't blame him.

Armin then went to the recovery area where all soldiers and civilians alike were being treated. But while looking around, his eyes found Jean sleeping in one of the beds despite only having a broken arm.

"He saved my life." Thomas said as he appeared behind Armin. He was had crutches with him to stand and walk.

"Thomas?"

"I owe him my life. If it weren't for him.. I wouldn't be here." Thomas said with pride and walks away. Armin looked around again and saw a small blonde alone in a corner. She had both hands covered in bandages and the side of her face was bruised.

The very basic instinct Armin always do when they meet is approach her.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Should I answer the question or isn't my appearance enough?" replied the blonde and Armin decided to change his approach.

"Sasha's been telling people how you saved her back there. You were amazing." he says.

"It's part of my job, that's all." she wanted to make it sound like it's normal to do so but Armin knew she'd say that. Which is why he had a speech prepared for her.

"The Military Police also said you separated from the squad as soon as you heard familiar screams. You recognized Sasha and Connie's voices and so you went to help them." Armin said and Annie said nothing. "Even if you're part of the MP, you'll always be one of us."

With those words, he stood up to help the others. But as soon as he left, the small blonde curled herself in that corner, her hands formed to fists and her nails digging into her palms.

"I still have to.. kill you all." She whispered to herself and cried silently.

* * *

 **Well I hope this is a complete make up for what I missed! Enjoy and see you in the next chapter!**


	13. Chapter XII: Inner City

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: October 3, 2016- Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Okay so what's up with the terrible fight?! Okay, okay, I know. I'm still working on it. So because of that I will give you a glimpse of what's up inside the Inner City. We all know everyone wants to be there because it's safer so Eren and the others will be invited and they'll see life there. Annie's own experience inside will be short.**

 **And hmm, what else.. oh yeah, a little sneak peak of what's about to come! So next chapter will be the preparation for the retaking of Shiganshina (it will be explain after you read this chap), then the next chapter will be an arc. Yep, an arc! What about? The Female Titan. But now let's just focus here. Two more chaps before that arc okay?**

 **Ultimate boredom:** I uh.. I don't know what to say! Thank you soooooooo much! I don't care if you're the only one reviewing this but it gives me lots and lots of boost and now I'm typing the next chapter. It's so hard to put them all in-character especially when certain situations come but I'm glad it pushed through. *laughs* I also didn't mean to mix the ride with all that stuff. The comedy and later the nightmare... unintentional xD. I guess I was just so happy that my fingers couldn't stop typing. Anyway, I was glad you are active as ever, even making an account.. I won't make this longer than it already is. *laughs* I failed to bring my defib so I died a bit but now I'm back!

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWELVE: INNER CITY**

After the success of the Operation Training-Eren, despite the many casualties that happened, the King decided to invite all of the Survey Corps for a banquet. A celebration for such victory. Who would've known a Titan shifter will be most useful and trusted?

"Victory is ours!" the recruits said in unison.

"To our brave comrades, Sasha and Connie!" Reiner said as he raised his cup, the others following his lead. "You saved Hannah's life and you've saved many more."

"You two dolts contributed to humanity twice now! Now isn't that something to be proud of?" Jean teased.

"Of course we're proud!" the two said together.

"I'm still not gonna praise them, even if they are to save me one day." Ymir said, not wanting to raise her cup to admire them. Krysta however held on her hand and gently lifts it up along with her cup.

"Don't forget about Armin of course!" Samuel exclaims.

"Oh yes, Armin the tactician!" Mylius added.

Armin shyly smiles at them as they pat him in the back. "It's not entirely just me." he says.

"Mikasa did some work too!" Krysta said and turned to Mikasa.

"Everyone did something." she knew it was going to going to be a cycle. Someone will praise another and that person will just pass it to another, so she decided to just mention everyone.

"Which reminds me, where's Eren?" Reiner asked when he noticed that Eren wasn't with them. "Surely he's not at the infirmary to recover." he joked.

 _To be honest, I don't know myself._

Armin had a good look around them. He saw that they were surrounded by nobles. People wearing rich accessories, silky robes and other expensive garment. What's more is that they live not in fear of the Titans. They live in peace. No Titans or death to worry about. They eat and party.

Eat and party. Not the luxury that everyone else has outside of the Inner City. Was it really an honor to be invited to enter the Inner City?

"He probably went to get something to eat." Armin lied. He didn't know where Eren was but he knew what Eren was thinking at the moment. He's not happy about the sight of these people.

"What's with Eren? Getting something to eat when practically we're being served like kings here!" Jean comments.

"I'll just go look for him. He probably got lost." he lied again as he left his seat.

"I'm sure he'll be back." Connie says. "Armin!" but Armin already left.

* * *

Armin searched everywhere, all he could see was the nobles laughing and eating and wasting food. They don't value what they already have, what others worked hard for... and yet Armin and the others are partying with them...

 _Eren, where are you? Please don't make a commotion or anything._

While searching for his friend, he spots the small blonde leaning in the corner in the shadows with her arms crossed. He approached her and she turned her face away from him.

"Have you seen Eren?" the blonde boy asked.

"No."

"Even if we're here in the Inner City, you're still aloof, huh?"

"On second thought, I think I saw your friend talking with the Survey Corps captain." she said but still won't look at Armin, giving him a slight concern why. He walks closer to her and she moves away. He expected that of course so he grabbed her by her shoulder to force her to face him, seeing fresh bruises on her face. "Stop bothering me!"

"Is the Military Police hurting you?" he asked out of great concern.

"No."

"Then where'd you get those-" his hand reached to touch her cheek but in response she swats his hand away.

"We're _not_ comrades anymore, Armin." she said sharply. "I don't care what happens to you and I don't want you caring what happens to me."

Armin paused.

When she turned away from him again, he didn't bother her anymore. He left her after muttering his apologies and continued to search for Eren, not knowing that Eren was actually watching them talk.

"Why do you keep hurting my friend?" Eren asked as he revealed himself to her.

"Why does he keep bothering me?"

"I asked you first."

"Didn't I already gave you an answer? He was bothering me." she said before taking a step back as a group of nobles surrounded Eren, giving him a pat in the back as they raise their golden cups filled with wine.

"There's our hero!" one of them claimed.

"What are you doing, partying out here by yourself? Come with us!" another offered.

"Uh thank you but-"

"Don't be shy! Our hero must be rewarded!" yet another noble said.

Eren was forced to join their table and eat uncomfortably and quietly as the nobles had a talk with each other. Their conversation with be all about riches and money, their income and property, their extravagant clothing and accessories.. it was an endless talk of nonsense that doesn't relate at all for humanity's sake. It was all about them.

* * *

"Look at him, all along he's been eating with the big guys." Jean said as soon as he spotted Eren with them.

"Maybe he's forced to eat with them." Connie guessed.

"Forced? He looks happy!"

"Please Jean, we both know that you're jealous that Eren gets to eat with the royals and you only get an extended invitation." Sasha retorts and Jean glared at her. Sasha gladly returned his glare.

"Haven't you guys apologized to each other already?" Connie asked rhetorically and they ignored him.

"Eren..." Mikasa mumbled under her breath as she watched Eren get a hold of himself. She can see pretty clearly that he doesn't want to be there any longer.

"Hey Jean, how's Thomas doing?" Ymir asked. "I heard that you saved his ass."

"Well he's doing fine. He looked after me when I was deadbeat from saving him." Jean replied. "He's probably with Hannah at the infirmary."

"Speaking of infirmary, who else is there?"

"I think Mina is there as well." Krysta replied.

"Oh yeah, I saw Mina back there." Reiner confirmed. "She looks okay, probably just shocked at the sudden attack."

"Marco's there as well, right?" Jean brought up, noticing that Marco is nowhere to be found at the party. No one replied. "What?" he thought they were planning to make a prank out of it but when he asked again, their facial expression expressing grief. "Where's Marco?!"

Silence.

* * *

"Remember that time when we sold one of those big healthy cows?" said one of the nobles sitting at the table where Eren was.

"Ah yes! I sold it again at a much higher price!" claimed a noble with a thin soary voice.

"Please, no cow can top off my properties. I even rent them to lowlives over the walls." said another one.

"Ugh, you have a property outside of the Inner Walls?"

"Well I still get something from them, even just a penny." bragged the one who owned properties. They laughed.

 _These people..._

They heard Jean yell at the other table all of the sudden. "Those nutheads sure make a lot of noise." commented one of them. "What are they arguing about anyway?"

"Looks like one of them is angry about a comrade." replied another.

"A comrade. Tch, I have no understanding to that. What of it if a comrade dies? There's a whole new batch of recruits about to graduate anytime soon. They can be their new comrades!"

Out of anger, Eren slammed his fists on their table. "JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU PEOPLE ARE?!" he yelled at them. "Calling people outside of the walls, 'lowlives'?! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO SAY SO?!"

"Calm down, hero, it's not like we're calling you a lowlife like them." said the one with the soary voice.

"THAT'S BEYOND THE POINT!" Eren continued to yell. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL US 'LOWLIVES' WHEN YOU'RE ALL NOTHING BUT USELESS DOGS EATING 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH OF IT!"

"Hold your tongue, young gentleman! Who gives _you_ the right to speak that way to us?!" they yelled back at him.

"THE MOMENT I REALIZED HOW FILTHY AND USELESS THE PEOPLE INSIDE THE INNER CITY ARE, THERE'S THIS ANNOYING FEELING OF BETRAYAL FROM YOU! MY COMRADES AND I, THE OTHER SOLDIERS AS WELL, THEY PROTECTED THIS CITY WITH THEIR LIVES- AND NOT EVEN ONE OF YOU APPRECIATES THEM- SO WHO ARE YOU TO SAY ALL THAT WHEN YOU DO NOTHING FOR HUMANITY?!"

Eren's sudden outburst caught everyone's attention, they were silent.

The nobles of course, didn't want how Eren spoke to them, how Eren humiliated them in front of everyone.

"You disrespectful boy!" one of them yells and hits him in the face. With the rings around that noble's fingers, Eren received quite a bruise but he didn't back down. The noble got hurt when he hit Eren. He hid the pain in his face and pulled his fist back, caressing his pained knuckles. "Get invited once, treated a hero and now you talk big!"

The brunette boy made his move this time, he grabbed the noble by his silky robe and threw a furious punch towards the noble's face but a hand stopped Eren from landing a direct hit on the noble's face.

"Annie?"

"I don't agree with this dog's way of words," the small blonde said and pulls the noble out of Eren's reach, throwing him backwards and he lands on the floor with his back hitting first, "or how he wastes his food when most of the population are starving," she then positioned herself to a fighting stance, her unique fighting stance, "but it's my job to protect _this_ lowlife."

"Get out of the way Annie! This stupid noble needs to learn his lesson!"

"How dare you speak to me that way as well!" the noble shouts at Annie. "Don't think I'll forget your face you little wench!"

"You see what I mean?!" Eren's fists were really ready to hit something. The 104th recruits stared at Eren and Annie make a scene. Something that Armin has been hoping not to happen.

"Exactly, Jaeger. We both know this dog has no manners, but if you hit him, you're no different from him." she says and dropped her stance, seeing that a group of Military Police and the Survey Corps were running towards them.

"GUARDS! Arrest them!"

"JAEGER!" Levi howled when he analyzed the situation. "What the heck are you doing, you stupid recruit?!"

The noble saw Levi and immediately crawled to his side, hugging his leg, dirtying Levi's boot because of it. "Arrest them, soldier! They disrespect me and they attempted to hurt me!"

Levi saw his dirty hands touching his boot and this triggered some anger in the captain. He kicked the noble himself. "I don't remember protecting some stinking men in robes are part of my job." he says before turning to Eren. "Jaeger, you and I will have a long talk." then he turned to the rest of the recruits that were invited. "All of you are coming with me too. NOW."

Behind Levi were two Military Police that knew and recognized Annie, they pushed out of the other soldiers to see her. "Annie!" Hitch screams. "Do you want to get your head cut off?! Apologize to them immediately!"

Marlowe, the other Military Police, lowered his head towards the noble that Levi kicked. "Please forgive her. She doesn't know what she's doing."

Eren didn't get to see what happened next because he and the other recruits left with Levi.

* * *

It was a day that they were all suspended to do anything with all their weapons and equipment being confiscated until Erwin had cleared up with what happened back at the party.

"I hope that the Survey Corps' name doesn't get anymore downgraded than this." Erwin told them. "You are to never set off in the Inner City again in exchange that you continue to be soldiers and do what you do."

"I'm sorry." Eren said but it wasn't a sincere apology.

Erwin walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "No apologies, boy. It was about time that the nobles awaken from their daydreams." he whispered to Eren before walking away. "You're all dismissed. Meet me back at the barracks for a meeting."

"Meeting about what?" Armin asked.

"You will be sent for an escort mission."

* * *

 **And hoorah! The new chapter is up! If ever I finish chapter 13 today, I'll upload it too. Okay? Cool.**


	14. Chapter XIII: This Side Of Things

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: November 24, 2016- Thursday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **OH NO OH NO OH NO! I'm so sorry I've been gone for more than a month now! *gasps* It's been almost two months!**

 **And so because of that I decided to write the drafts in my phone *laughs*. And now I'll just upload it *smiles* See? better than waiting 'til I get my hands on my laptop.**

 **WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONSISTS OF SUGGESTIVE THEMES! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! IF NOT, PLEASE STOP NOW! I REPEAT! WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONSISTS OF SUGGESTIVE THEMES! READ AT YOUR OWN RISKS! IF NOT, PLEASE STOP NOW!**

 **Ultimate boredom:** So... I ended up posting very late. Sorry. And yeah, I figured maybe I should talk about the inner city even for just a bit. And I think Eren wouldn't like seeing it so *laughs*. And Marco! At first watch I wasn't affected but after rewatching the anime, I missed him *sobs*. *laughs* Yes, I've been having a hard time trying to make something funny out of it and decided to go with Levi. Don't worry, I'll be sure you won't need a tissue!

 **Oh and one last thing, if I get to finish chapter fourteen today... it'll be a double chapter upload!**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THIS SIDE OF THINGS**

After their visit at the inner city, Jean visits Marco's remains as it is found by the soldiers who were cleaning up the city. Half of Marco's face was gone and part of the left side of his body was covered in dried blood since his left side was also gone. The rest of his body had bite and scratch marks everywhere.

"How dare you die before anyone came, you idiot!" He yells in anger. "How dare you die before I came to save you!"

He cried in front of Marco's lifeless body. He tried to keep the tears from coming but he couldn't. The salty liquid crawled out of his eyes even if he didn't want it to.

"YOU SELFISH IDIOT! HOW DARE YOU DIE ON ME! MARCO!" he yelled at the corpse. But even with his anger, he sobbed and sniffed as he fell on his knees. "Why didn't you call for help?" He says, his voice breaking. "WHY?!"

While Jean was crying beside Marco, he didn't notice a shadow right outside the door. A pair of eyes observing him carefully. It didn't last long that Jean heard a clang. A sound of a bucket being hit. Jean quickly got up, wiping his tears.

"Who's there?" He asked when he turned to the door and saw the shadow make a run for it. "Hey!"

Running after it, he bumps into Reiner when he got outside. "Whoa, Jean. You okay?"

"Did you see someone pass by here?" Jean asks, his eyes looking around, hoping to see someone suspicious.

"No. Sorry." Reiner says. "But hey, I'm on my way to grab some bread. Want to come?"

"No. I'm good. Thanks anyway."

Meanwhile, Eren was raging mad. Mikasa and Armin were exchanging turns to talk to Eren. But after Armin was summoned by Levi for a mission brief, it was up to Mikasa to keep Eren calm.

"Eren.."

"I'm fine Mikasa. I just.. how could we risk our lives to such pigs?!" Eren says. People like them gets to live while people like his mom..

"I know. The system is terrible. But it's just the beginning. I'm sure one day you can make a change." Mikasa says calmly.

"Like how I'm making a change now?" Eren spreads his arms, pertaining to his being. His ability.

"Yes."

"If you didn't notice, I'm an asset. Not particularly someone they trust." Eren points out with a tone of frustration.

"I think you've gained the trust you used to lack. That's why you're the person that we all have to protect." Mikasa tells him what he didn't notice. "You're doing a good job changing this world, Eren."

"Mikasa.. thank you." Eren smiles at her. Mikasa blushes and looks away, pulling the scarf on her neck to cover her cheeks.

"It's nothing, Eren." She says shyly but Eren scoots closer to her, placing his hand above hers. Her heart pounded when she turned to see Eren's hand on top of hers. It was warm. "I have to go." Mikasa tells him with her one hand holding the scarf over her mouth and cheeks. She got up but Eren didn't let her go.

"Please don't leave me." He pleads. His face expressing the longing for a companion.

"..." Mikasa wasn't sure what to say. So Eren decided to stop with the talking and move on with the doing. He stood up to reach Mikasa's other hand and remove the scarf covering her lips, pressing his over hers, shortly.

For a minute there Mikasa thought time had stopped. Did Eren just..?

When the brunette pulled his lips away, Mikasa this time, was the one who didn't let him go. "Eren.." she calls him and held tightly on his shirt.

Eren smiles and kisses her again, longer this time.

Jean sees Eren and Mikasa exchanging passionate kisses and was angered seeing her with him. No- jealous. He was jealous of Eren. He always has been. And even after he had made up with Eren back in their test, he still has confused treatment towards him. Most probably because not only does he have the magnificent ability to shift into a Titan but he also has Mikasa on his side. Always.

He storms off the scene and started kicking and punching the concrete wall. Just blowing off steam. He ignored the fact that his fists were bleeding with his actions.

'If Marco were here he'd know what to do.. he'd know what to say...' he said in his inner thoughts.

His anger fades when he heard screams nearby. No- shouts. He ran towards the source of the sound and sees Reiner pinning Annie to the wall. The small blonde spots Jean and kneed Reiner before tripping him to lose his balance.

"Training is over." She tells Reiner.

Reiner glared at her for a second and traced where her eyes are looking at. Jean. He chuckled and he got back up, looking at Jean.

"You want to practice too?" He asked.

"No. I just thought that someone needed help." Jean says.

"Alright. I'll see you around. I need a break." Reiner tells him and walks away. Annie said no word and followed Reiner.

"Annie!" Jean calls her. She stopped walking. He wasn't exactly sure why he called her all of the sudden. "Why did you choose to join the Military Police?"

"Why didn't you?" Annie asked him as well.

"Because Survey Corps looked something more reasonable to join. They're the frontliners." Jean replies.

"And why are you asking me? I asked YOU!"

"You used to want to join the Military Police. What was your reason back then?" The small blonde kept ignoring his questions.

"I told you, it's reasonable to join the Survey Corps so I moved there!"

"You didn't answer my question." Annie answered calmly despite Jean's voice raising.

"You didn't answer mine!"

"I want to be away from what's outside the walls." At last the blonde answered. "Isn't that your reason as well?" Shs tells him. "You find it unreasonable to be a coward when everyone in your squad is going to be a member of the Survey Corps." When Jean had nothing else to say, she took it as her cue to go. "Some people just get carried away by the flow. Even if they're against it." She left her last words from making her leave.

Jean was left thinking... was it a good thing to be taken by the flow? To be a part of the survey corps because he got jealous of them?

While he was thinking about it on his way home, he sees Sasha getting kicked out of a bakery and Sasha was crying.

"Nooooooo! Please let me in!" Sasha cries out.

"Get lost!" The baker yelled at her from behind the door.

Jean rolled his eyes at his comrade. "I have some bread at home." He said all of the sudden. "You can come by if you want." He offered. Sasha was both shocked and happy at his offer. Kinda suspicious too. Well Sasha wasn't alone to think that way. In fact, Jean was confused why he'd offer his food and home to someone like her.

When they arrived at home, Sasha gladly ate everything that Jean places on the table.

"Could you act more humane when you eat?!" He shouts at her.

"I couldn't help it! It's so delicious and I'm so hungry!" Sasha exclaims in joy.. while there's food in her mouth.

"Everything for you is delicious." He muttered. When some crumbs from Sasha's mouth flew to him, he knew he had to say something. "And don't talk when your mouth is full!"

Sasha just kept eating anyways. Jean was annoyed- too annoyed to even bother to care about it. He just let her eat while he continue to think about what he was thinking earlier. About joining the survey corps. Being with Marco, Thomas and the others... and meeting Mikasa. Just by thinking about Mikasa he couldn't help but remember what she and Eren did when he left. He was angry- he was jealous. Still he was thinking about it.

'Mikasa...'

'Jean..' Mikasa calls his name in a seductive tone.

'What? How'd you get here?' He asks. Mikasa only giggled.

'I heard you were thinking about me.. in a way..' she hints to him and Jean could feel his member hardening.

'I uh.. I..' his cheeks were blushing.

'What do you say, we male that dream come true?' Mikasa tells him as she slowly leans closer to him. He smiles and caught her lips. Later inserting his tongue to hers and moaning in pleasure. "Mikasa.." he muttered as he now licked the side of Sasha's neck.

"JEAN!" Sasha yelled at him and he stops. "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

It took a while for Jean to remember that he was fantasizing about Mikasa. He pulls away from Sasha and shyly looks away. "I'm sorry!"

"Oh you better be! I can't believe you invited me here to seduct me!" Sasha exclaims.

"Seduct you? Eww I'd never-!" He pauses when it dawned to him that it was Sasha he kissed earlier and not Mikasa. "DARN IT!"

"You owe me a month's worth of food supply for what you did!" Sasha tells him.

"Whaaat?!"

"You stole my first kiss!" Sasha reminds him. "And be thankful it's not my virginity, or suffer to supply me food forever!"

"Okay, okay I'm sorry! I just.. I feel lonely."

When Jean's aura had changed, Sasha took a deep breath anf sighed. "I'll accompany you as long as you don't rape me."

Jean chuckled at her request. "I won't."

At late night in the same day, Armin was on his way back to Eren and Mikasa when he saw a familiar small blonde at the corner. He couldn't have seen her if it wasn't for the quiet sobs she's been doing.

"Annie?"

The small blonde didn't say a word. She just kept sobbing.

"Annie.. are you alright?"

Again, there was no answer. Armin walker closer little by little, not wanting to invade any personal space she wants. When Annie said nothing and that she didn't react when he closed the distance between them, he walks nearer until he slowly wrapped his arms around her. She was cold. Freezing cold.

"Annie..." he didn't know what was going on. But he knew it's something bad. "...I'll always be here." He tells her softly. Then Annie, who was crying and hugging her knees, moved to cry on his chest. Armin was surprised. It was the first time Annie showed any signs of 'soft spot' when around anyone.

She still didn't say a word though but he allowed Annie to express whatever pain she's suffering in. Keeping her in his protective arms.

"I'll always be on your side.. no matter what happens." He continued to assure her. "I didn't get it from any book this time. Because it's from my heart."

Annie's grip tightened on Armin's shirt. Armin didn't know what it means. But it has to be a message.

"Yeah. I love you Annie." He says. "That's what I'm trying to say."

The small blonde's fingernails were digging into the cloth and reaching his skin. It hurts. But he can pretend it doesn't. For the meantime anyway.

Yet again, another shadow was lurking and watching them.


	15. Chapter XIV Encounter w the Female Titan

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: November 24, 2016- Thursday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **sO THIS IS IT! The latest chapter update and hopefully, again, the action doesn't suck ;P**

 **Let's get ready for some battle!** **! And I will lessen my A/N talk so I can make up with lost time *laughs*. Especially to my dear, awesome and loyal reader. I'm sorry for going MIA on you.**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE FEMALE TITAN**

After their visit at the inner city, Jean visits Marco's remains as it is found by the soldiers who were cleaning up the city. Half of Marco's face was gone and part of the left side of his body was covered in dried blood since his left side was also gone. The rest of his body had bite and scratch marks 14: the encounter with the female titan

The following day, everyone was traveling in groups outside the walls. Armin was a bit sleepy and Connie could see it.

"Hey Armin. Are you okay?" Connie asked. "You look beat."

"Yeah. I just.. I lack sleep." Armin said.

"Sheesh. If you knew we're going for an adventure the next day, at least prepare yourself!"

"Says the guy who slept late last night." Ymir muttered.

"I didn't!"

"Trainees, can we focus? We got a big day ahead of us. And... an apple to catch." Hanji says with a mischievous grin.

"Huh?"

"Formation A!" Hanji yells and fires a red flare up the sky. All others who are holding a flare fired theirs as well.

Armin and everyone in the expedition were forming a certain formation as soon as they saw the fired flare. An alternate row lined up and scattered. And after a few hours, the formation is about to change again.

"Formation B, ready!" Levi shouts and fired a blue flare this time. The first formation broke and now they're forming into flower-shaped gathering of about seven to eight people.

While the formation changes from time to time, Armin finds himself with Bertholdt who's been staring so bad at him. And when he asks what the problem was, Bertholdt wouldn't answer and look away.

"Why do we keep changing formations? It's pointless and a waste of time." Connie asks.

"Maybe to travel safely?" Krysta tried to guess.

"That's a good guess!" Connie agreed.

While everyone was talking, Armin had a sudden thought. 'Why do we keep changing formations? What's the purpose of it?'. Surely there's a better reason than 'to travel safely.' He wasn't sure what the reason was. Until they had a new formation.

After shifting formations...

"Aaaaagh!" A scream from among their group.

"What was that?!" A soldier asked. Everyone glancing behind them to see a titan running towards them.

The Titan was about eight feet tall. It was the same height as Eren's titan form. It was running towards them. It's faster than the other Titans.

If they were to choose between calling it an average titan or a shifter. It's safer to say it's a Shifter. Especially if it seems to have a mind working properly.

The titan was ignoring the soldiers in their group. Until a shot was fired towards the titan's nape. It missed and suddenly the titan turns to its attacker and throwing sharp pieces of ice coming out of its skin from its hands. The ice hits the soldiers like a sharp blade and they fall from their horses and they're dead.

"Armin! We can't let it pass through us!" yells one of the surviving soldiers who weren't hit by the ice.

The blonde boy looks at the titan who didn't aim to kill the rest of them but instead kept running forward. "Fire a flare!" Armin commanded.

Emergency flares were fired to alert the others about the attack. And a few brave soldiers jumped from their horses and attacks the titan. With their 3dmg, they managed to control where they want to land. Unfortunately, before even getting anywhere near the titan, they were swiftly killed by more of the shedding ice-skin from the titan.

Armin carefully studied the titan's features. A female titan. And a rare one at that. But while studying the titan, he didn't notice what was coming at him.

"Armin look out!" cried one of the soldiers with him. Armin got back to his senses and saw icicles coming towards him fast. His eyes widened as his body froze.

Before the very second that the icicle was about to kill him, Armin's eyes grew even wider when the incident before him had happened. He couldn't explain it. He couldn't slow it down. But the next thing he knew was that he was on the ground, his horse running away, the soldier who saved him was right beside him. Dead. He was terrified at the sight and crawled away from his dead comrade who saved his life.

Then he was glances at the female titan that was walking towards him with caution. A hand reaching out to him. Armin immediately grabbed both his swords and shakily points it at the female titan who stopped coming near him. Its hand that was reaching for it, dropping.

"Who are you?" Armin asks, wanting to confirm his theory that the titan is a shifter.

The female titan however said nothing in response, merely staring him in the eyes for a moment before turning its back on him and running away. Armin could feel that in their short point of contact, the female titan was indeed a shifter. He didn't have proof but he could feel it. Something inside him was telling him that it's human.

"STAY AWAY FROM ARMIN!" Jean yells. He and Reiner coming to his rescue.

The two slashed at the titan, making it shriek in pain. The female titan took action and uses its arm to block Jean's attack, his blade getting stuck in the female titan's skin that froze as soon as the blade came in contact with it.

"What the-?!"

"Jean!" Armin screams.

The female titan then kicks Jean in the stomach, sending him dozens of meters away due to its strong force. Reiner on the other hand took the chance to attack the female titan from behind and was about to slash at its neck but the female titan knew he was there. In defensive mode, the female titan's nape froze as well. Reiner's blade was stuck and gives Reiner a powerful punch in the gut.

"Reiner!" Armin screams again.

The female titan slowly drops Reiner's body down now that he was unconscious. The female titan then turned back to Armin, seeing that he froze in place, he wasn't a threat. And so it went on, running after the group.

"What is she after?" Armin wondered. _She didn't kill me... Jean or Reiner... she's after something... but what is it? Or is it a person?_

"Armin! You let it get away!" Jean scolds when he got back on his feet and arrived at the scene, his hand holding his aching stomach.

"It's after something." Armin concludes.

"What do you mean?"

"She's been ignoring us ever since she caught up with us. She's going towards somewhere." the blonde boy point out.

"She?" Jean raises a brow on him.

"I think she's also a titan shifter. There's no way an average titan can have so much intelligence. Not to mention.. that ability to shed ice skin. Or freeze her skin for that matter." he expounds.

"Why didn't she kill any of us but killed the others then?" Jean asked.

"I don't know..." with a moment of silence, an idea struck his thoughts. "...unless she wants us to lead her to Eren!"

"Huh?"

"She purposely showed up to our team to tell others there's a threat. And the formation will move now. A new formation that will protect where Eren is. And as for us, since we know she's after Eren, we will go and find him. And she will run after us." Armin says as soon as he discovered it.

"Well if your theory is true. Then why the heck did the stupid titan went ahead?" Jean raises a brow on him.

"With her speed, she can just run around the area and show herself to others as well. They will fire flares once more and until she sees a team that doesn't fire a flare, she'll know it's the one." Armin explains.

"A team that doesn't fire a flare? Why?"

"When I was summoned at the office to be briefed about the mission. I was told that Captain Levi's team will keep a low profile. That includes not firing a flare." Armin added.

"So what do we do now? We lead the titan a different way?"

"We join the others at the Tall Forest. But uh.. we'll need a horse first. There's no way we can carry Reiner all the way."

* * *

Meanwhile,

Eren, who was with Levi's team noticed the firing of flares now and then. The emergency flares. He was worried of course. With Armin. Mikasa. And everyone else. They're all risking their lives for him. While he.. he's just riding with everyone else in safety.

"Looks like there's a lot of titans nearby." Eld says when he noticed it too.

"Why fire flares if they can handle it? They're wasting their supplies." Oluo says.

"It's not an ordinary titan." Levi tells them.

"Hmm? Why do you think so, heichou?" Petra asks. Levi was quiet as usual but he spoke.

"I just do." was all he answered with.

"Captain, shouldn't I be with them? Shouldn't I be fighting the titans? And this unordinary titan?" Eren tells him. He wanted to be in the battlefield with his friends. He wanted to help. He wanted to be more than just someone to protect.

But Levi did not give him an answer.

"Just stick with us kid. Your friends will be fine." Oluo assures him.

"I hope so."

* * *

"Hehehe, Krysta you're a lifesaver!" Reiner continued his thanks. "Thank you!"

"Ugh Reiner, could you stop that already?" Jean was starting to be annoyed with Reiner who looked as if he was lovestruck. Reiner kept thanking Krysta nonetheless.

"I- It's nothing really." Krysta tells them with her gentle tone.

"Guys, we have to hurry." Armin informs them. "We have company." With that, the group looks behind them and sees a horde of titans both aberrant and average titans, running and walking and crawling towards them. Jean's eyes widened at the number of titans behind them.

"What the heck is all that?! An army?!"

"Keep going Jean! To the forest!" Reiner tells him and they rushed their horses towards the Tall Trees.

* * *

No one is safe.

Not even Eren.

"Don't look back, kid!" Oluo yells at Eren who had his eyes locked on the number of dead bodies dropping here and there as they all try to stop the female titan from coming near him.

"Captain..." Eren had the urge to do something... to fight... to kill the female titan...

"Eren, don't." Petra tried to keep him from looking but with the continuous screams of pain from behind them. Their comrades dying. Humans dying... how could they just turn their back on everyone?

"But-!"

"You keep going you brat or their sacrifice will be in vain!" Levi shouts at Eren.

The female titan was coming near. Soldiers jump at it but it merely protects itself from the attackers. With shielding herself with solid ice, her skin is impenetrable and their blades broke as they try to hit her. Once their weapons were broken, the female titan grabs one of the soldiers in the arm, so hard that it came off from his body. He cried in pain and stared at his arm that the female titan that was now holding.

The same treatment goes with the other soldiers. They get their limbs ripped off or be killed with one hit. The female titan had one focus. And that's to catch Eren. In fact, her eyes are locked on Eren.

"Screw it all!" Eren shuts his eyes for a moment and looks in front of him. _I want to make a change to this world... Mikasa... I WILL make that change. For now... for now..._

When the female titan seemed to catch up, Gunther made his move.

"Gunther, get back!" Levi yells.

"Gunther!" Petra screamed when Gunther stopped his horse so he could face the female titan.

Gunther's last words were never said out loud. He only turned to them one last them with a smile. The only message he gave was his smile that tells them 'for humanity' before fully turning away from them to focus on his battle. A battle that wasn't his.

Petra and Levi looked away. His death would be too painful to watch and they kept going. Oluo and the others as well. But Eren... Eren kept looking until the scene before him was going far. He saw how the female titan ripped Gunther's gut open and how the female titan left Gunther's body to be feasted on by the other titans. It burned Eren's fuel of anger.

Then the female titan continued to run after them and in the female titan's surprise... she was caught in a trap.


	16. Chapter XV: Female Titan's Cry

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: November 26, 2016- Saturday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 ***laughs* A lot of free time on my hands recently. So let's get this on with!**

 **And yes, everyone, I know this scene will be awfully familiar to you. LIke I said in my past A/N, which I'm not sure if you guys read or not, I will be basing off my fanfic in the anime. Don't worry, there are alterations as usual. For now, I just need you guys to once again bear with me *laughs*. Yes, please hold on a little bit longer!**

 **And up next, we all know what that is! (once you finished this chap, I'm sure you can guess what's next).**

 **Ultimate boredom:** Long story *laughs*. But I'm back! And yeah, I was trying to do a poll about which girl to ship with who but I don't get much response so I just did what I think is cute. Hope you guys don't mind *laughs*. And yeah, I just feel like Annie wouldn't answer Armin. Ahh yes, the action about this Female Titan Arc in my fic is basically based off from the anime. So I can tell that you and everyone else can predict what's next *chuckles*. But anyways, I hope you guys still look forward to it. Your reviews keep my going. So now I typed in the next chapter! And uh, about the little error in the last chapter. I did it on purpose to get a little attention. And nah, I'm not gonna hold you here anymore.

 **Without further ado, read on!**

 **CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE FEMALE TITAN'S CRY**

The female titan was caught in a trap. A trap. Yes, a trap. There was a trap prepared for the female titan. Levi's squad were surprised, not knowing that there was something prepared for the female titan. It was the reason why they had to keep going no matter what. Eren himself was caught by the element of surprise and so did the female titan.

"Whew, I never knew this would work." Hanji says. Eren heard her voice from one of the branches on the trees.

"Hanji-san? Weren't you with us earlier?" Eren asked.

"On the fifth formation, yes." Hanji says. "But you see, the purpose of us shifting formations was to mix the soldiers who are in a group while I and the other Survey Corps show up thrice in the mix before hurrying here to make sure the trap is ready and going."

"Whoa."

"That's why you have to stay in line brat." Levi tells Eren.

"Yes sir!" Eren felt so surprised at the tactics and style of the Survey Corps. It's better than being a Garrison and the MP he thought. The Survey Corps may not promise that they get to live longer but the Survey Corps is promising in the battlefield. "But why do we have to take great measures to capture this titan?" Eren asked.

"It's because-" Erwin was about to answer but then the female titan struggled to escape the hundreds of hooks anchored to its body.

"It's trying to get away." Eld tells everyone.

"There's no way she can escape it. Even if she's a titan shifter, it won't make a difference." Hanji assured. "Now hurry up and force her to shed that titan skin and reveal her identity!"

Erwin nodded at Levi so Levi walked towards the female titan. With his height, he had to look up at the female titan. "Tch. Your height doesn't scare me." he prepared to slash at its neck but then the female titan started to cry.

"What is it doing?" Eren wondered.

Everyone looked around and heard thunders of footsteps coming nearby and fast.

"LEVI, DON'T LET HER CRY!" Erwin yells, realizing that the female titan must be calling for help. Levi glared at the female titan and slashed his sword at her but surprised that his sword broke in half the moment it had contact with its frozen skin.

"HEICHOU!" Petra screams and ran towards his aid.

"We're coming!" Oluo added.

As if Levi would need some help.

When Levi discovered that the female titan had a special ability, he quickly stepped away as the hundreds of titans who came from all directions arrived to the female titan's aid. "DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!" Erwin ordered everyone.

Even with hesitation, Levi and the rest of the Survey Corps charged towards the female titan to chop off its limbs so it won't go anywhere. But the moment the swarm of titans arrived, the female titan forced itself to move despite its skin coming off from her every moment. Pulling the rest of the hooks attached to the other parts of its body.

"You're not going anywhere!" Levi yells and 'reloaded' his broke blade to a new one. With two swords ready to cross-cut her body, the female titan only stared back in his eyes before allowing itself to be surrounded by the titans she called. Levi could feel that he was just mocked by her. With courage, he still dashed nearer to her and swings his sword to cut her head off but only grazed its titan skin until it came off, revealing the human flesh of the shifter's cheek and partly the skin below its eyes.

But that was all Levi could see before the titans fully surrounded the female titan and ate it.

"Noooooooooooooo!" Hanji yells.

The Survey Corps retreated and climbed up the tall trees to be safe from the titans below. Levi himself retreated and went beside Erwin who had his eyes locked on the swarm of titans eating their own kind.

"She chose to die instead of getting captured." Levi tells him.

"It was a good choice." Erwin says, his eyes not leaving the scene before him. "If I were her, I'd choose to die than suffer in the hands of humanity whom I betrayed."

Levi said nothing when he understood what Erwin was trying to say. The female titan was a shifter. Then it means she's human. She's a _human_ and yet she's siding with the titans. Which makes her an enemy.

"Why are we attacking here? Aren't we supposed to save her?!" Eren didn't understand. "If this titan helped us then why are we capturing it?! And how can you say it's after me?!" Eren was glad he wasn't the only titan shifter around. He found another one. And this titan shifter helped them once. Why is she being captured?

"This female titan is a shifter. And she's after you." Erwin answered.

"Yeah and I never heard of another shifter anywhere until today. So why are we trying to kill it?!" Eren answered. He wasn't angry because he's no longer special, that there are other titan shifters out there, he was actually glad he wasn't alone. But here he is, standing on a branch, watching as the titans eat the female titan.

"Remember the Nightraid?" Erwin asks. "There were odd melting rocks that helped us cover the holes in the wall. Correct?" Eren nodded. "No soldier lived to tell the tale but Hanji concludes that the melting rocks are not exactly melting rocks. Instead, it's titan's skin being shed and hardening."

"See? She helped us even if nobody saw her do it, who else could it be?!"

"When Wall Maria got attacked, Rico and the others are sent to use the rotten bodies to lead away the titans. Again, there was no one who saw the female titan but Rico spotted the same 'melting rock' which is the female titan's skin nearby. When she went back for it, it was gone. Guess where she found the titan's skin." Erwin asked rhetorically. "The same place where your two friends said they saw baby titans."

"That doesn't prove anything!"

"All these locations... these are all places where you've been." Erwin expounds. "And most probably, where your titan self has been. The female titan is studying you. Of course we couldn't prove that yet so we decided to make up a plan to lure out the female titan. Pretending to go on another expansion mission with you with us. But for some reason the female titan didn't keep a low profile."

Eren balled his fists in anger. Many had died because of them trying to lure out the female titan. Including Gunther. And this was all the explanation they gave him.

"This doesn't justify anything." Eren says and storms off.

"Eren!" Hanji wanted to go after him but Erwin and Levi stopped her.

"Give him time to think. But keep an eye on him in case he does anything reckless." Erwin orders. "As someone with great power but he doesn't know what to do with it, it's useless. So we need him to understand that."

* * *

When Eren was away from the crowd, he went down on one of the branches where he saw a Survey Corps green cloak hanging and covered in blood. Blood trails below were leading to somewhere. He took the cloak and followed the trail.

"Hey! Is anybody there! I know where to get help!" he called out as he continued to follow the trail.

The blood drops were getting smaller as he continued to follow it and also sees a 3D Maneuver Gear next. Indeed there was someone who was still alive. He was relieved that at least one person that attacked the female titan had survived.

"Just stay put soldier! I'm coming!" Eren yells when he finally saw a faint figure in a distance, covered in blood, walking rather sluggishly. As he got near, he noticed that the soldier had a hood over its head and its back was turned. "Hey, the rest of the army is back there. Come on, I'll lead you to safety." he says and was about to take the soldier's hand but stopped midway when he saw that smoke was coming out of the hand. And that the hand had no outer skin. "Are you... okay?"

He wondered. The soldier stopped walking. Eren stopped as well and stayed behind, carefully watching what the soldier will do.

"I know not everyone feels safe with me. But I'm on humanity's side." He assured the soldier. Thinking maybe he was just scared of Eren.

The smoke had stopped from coming out of the hand and this time he noticed that the hand had skin again, as if the skin regenerated after seconds. His heart skipped a beat. _Regeneration? Did he just...?_ He gulped and looked back at the soldier. _Is it possible that..?_

The soldier didn't turn around to reveal it's face but instead, lifted its hand to its mouth. Erwin knew what that meant and so he took a step back as the soldier transformed into the female titan once more.

"YOU!" Eren yells when he confirmed the soldier's identity. "HOW COULD YOU BETRAY HUMANITY?!"

Eren was confused whether or not defend her. Yes, she was a titan shifter. She helped them once, back at the Nightraid but that will never change the fact that she killed hundreds of soldiers this day. For what? She killed them all for what? To get Eren? To get him?

"I want to side with you.. I'm happy to know I'm not alone.. BUT WHAT YOU DID TO HUMANITY IS UNFORGIVABLE! YOU KILLED YOUR OWN KIND AS IF YOU WEREN'T HUMAN! Or maybe YOU LEFT HUMANITY ALREADY?!"

The female titan gave him no answer but surely its eyes were expressing something. Eren couldn't tell because of all the emotions rushing through him. The female titan walked towards him and was reaching its hand towards Eren. Eren jumped backwards.

"I'm not going to let you win!" he says before biting on a bit of flesh from his thumb and later transforming as well.

With Eren's titan self the same height as the female titan, the battle will be fair and square. He was the first to make his move since the female titan wasn't moving. He lands a strong punch on her cheek and she failed to dodge it. Another fist came flying towards her other cheek but this time, she blocks the attack with her arm and uses her knee to hit Eren's stomach before roundhousing him until he falls on the ground.

Eren quickly gets back up but the female titan kicks him in the face, forcing him back down.

 _I'm not gonna lose!... I'm not going to lose to an enemy of humanity! No matter who you are, I won't lose to you!_

With more anger fueling him, he didn't mind the two times that he fell on the ground. He's just going to stand again as if nothing had happened. He launches himself towards her again, but the female titan showed no effort to fight him and just stepped aside and Eren missed her.

 _FIGHT ME!_

When Eren lands beside her, he didn't let the opportunity miss. He was right next to her so he spun around to give her a kick but she blocked his leg with one of her arms before locking it around his leg, holding it now with both her hands before pulling him to a spin as they both go around and around. Eren was upside down since the female titan was holding his leg as he was dragged around in a circle before throwing him to a certain tree.

The brunette didn't move for a while. Despite being in titan form, he couldn't beat her. Why is that?

 _This can't be over..._

Slowly getting back on his feet, he copied a pose. A fighting pose that he once saw from someone. The female titan watched him position himself. Then he attacks her with the same fighting style that Annie used once on Reiner on their trainee days.

 _I only saw this once... but I know I can do this!_

The female titan made its own pose but Eren continued his attack. He was able to land a good hit on the female titan's face and she stumbled backwards. Eren took his chance and jumped on her but the female titan rolled to the side, letting Eren jump towards the ground beside her. With quick movement, the female titan slides her leg to trip Eren. And when he did, the female titan hardened its skin on the hand part, shedding it later to create a sharp weapon and the female titan struck it to Eren's arm. Then another one to his wrist until she finally pins eren to the ground.

Eren tried to move but moving either of his arms hurt.

His eyes widened when he saw the female titan shed another icicle, this time was pointed to his head. He froze in fear. Was it the end of him? He didn't want it to end that way but he couldn't move. Why? Why can't he?

"EREN!" Mikasa screams as soon as she arrives to Eren's aid, cutting the female titan's arm that was holding the icicle.

 _Mikasa?_

Levi was right behind her and was quick with his 3DMG. He rushed to the female titan's side with a mischievous grin, "We meet again, you filth." he tells the female titan before swinging both his blades to cut her head and neck but the female titan hardened its skin before Levi's blades can go anywhere deeper.

Eren returned to his human form and Mikasa helped him sit up. "Eren, are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Come on." Mikasa assisted him to get back on his feet. "We need to get out of here."

"But Levi-"

"We'll talk later." Mikasa said sharply. "We should go before I lose control of myself and kill the stench who tried to kill you." she said bitterly and glared at the female titan who now lost a leg from Levi's recent attack before he took a step back since he ran out of blades.

* * *

When they've returned back to their base, all survivors that were wounded were treated.

Armin as usual, was summoned in the office with Eren.

"So we still don't know the reason why it wants to kill Eren?" Mikasa asked.

"We don't have any strong evidence that she wants to kill Eren." Hanji says.

"She had an icicle pointed at Eren's head!"

"But you said when you got there the female titan was only pointing it. No other movement. It could be that there's something else." Hanji says. "Right now our only lead is that she wants Eren."

"Eren will be placed another surveillance and protection until we resolve this problem." Erwin says.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of the walls,

A certain tall fellow with black hair wearing a Survey Corps cloak was carrying a certain small blonde that had one of her arms cut and so is her other leg. She was covered in dry blood as smoke comes out from all her injuries. He carefully puts her down the soft grass and leans her body to a tree.

"What were you thinking?" he asked the unconscious blonde. "You didn't follow the plan."

He watched as her missing limbs slowly recover. The sleeves of her hooded sweatshirt on the right side didn't regenerate just like her arm did though. So did the torso on her right. She was only left in knee-length when her leg regenerated. He held on her warm hand that just regenerated. Then he looks up at her cheek and neck where Levi had cut her twice.

He slides his fingers on the part where the cut used to be before sighing deeply. He sits down in front of her and waited until she had fully recovered.

"You'll be alright. I promise. I'll be right here." he says softly.

But then he heard footsteps come forward.


	17. Chapter XVI: FT's Life Among Them

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: November 26, 2016- Saturday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **So I already hinted back in the last chapter that it the female titan was Annie. Although it was already obvious *chuckles*.**

 **Get ready for more Annie scenes! *laughs* For some reason I'm emphasizing on Annie here, yeah you could say that. I'm trying not to but it's time she gets the spotlight! And again, this is based off from the anime so you'll find it very familiar. Please bear with me! I know you can already predict where this is going!**

 **A double update my friend!**

 **Without further ado, read on!**

 **CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE FEMALE TITAN'S LIFE AMONG THEM**

Annie wakes up in her room. She was a bit dizzy so she didn't get up just yet. She let a few moments pass by before getting up and examined her right hand. Opening and closing her hands and saw that her hand was properly functioning. She then removes the blanket that was over her body and sees her right leg. She lifts the pajama up until her knees and examines her leg before trying to move it.

She sighed and fell back down the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

 _Get up Annie, you've got work to do._ She tells herself.

Later, when she went out of the room, she yawned as she walked down the stairs of the Military Police base, greeted by her noisy roommate Hitch.

"Good morning sleepyhead!" Hitch greeted. "How's your night?"

"Good." was her only reply.

"Some Survey Corps guy carried you back to your room, said you got drunk with the Garrisons. What's up with that? _You_ hanging out _with_ the Garrisons?" Hitch teased. "That's new! I bet there's one old fellow there that you like. Tell me all about it!"

"Hitch!" Marlowe shouts when he heard Hitch's voice.

"Oh hey Marlowe, morning!" Hitch greets him as well.

"Morning." he greets back but then he sees Annie with Hitch. "Annie! Where have you been?! I heard you've been slacking off lately!" he asked angrily.

"She had a drink with the Garrisons last night!" Hitch answered for her.

"A drink? We're the Military Police! We don't drink and have fun, we PROTECT!" Marlowe scolds her. "Now look at you! You're still in a hangover and pretty sure you can't protect anyone when you're in a hangover!" he continued to chide.

"I can protect myself." she replied and Marlowe throws a punch at her but she dodged him effortlessly and walked towards the exit. "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine." she says and left the base.

"We're not done yet! Get back here!" Marlowe shouts as he runs after her.

Hitch just smiled at her two friends. "Aww, they do that all the time." she says to herself before running after them.

After grabbing something to eat, the three continued on with their scouting. And they find some Military Police eating and drinking with drunkards in their side of the neighborhood. Marlowe finds it wrong and approached them.

"Hey! Why are you guys drinking so early in the morning?! We should be doing our rounds!" he tells them but the Military Police members he was scolding just laughed at him. "What's so funny?"

"You're a good soldier kid, but to be honest, no MP does their work well inside these walls." one of them said.

"I DO! And I'm a part of the Military Police!" Marlowe says.

"That's just the beginning." the other MP that was drinking, said. "As time pass by, you lose the hype and you just do what we do. We eat, drink, party. That's all we do around here anyway." the MP soldier said.

"Then let's make a change around here! We can't just do nothing while the Garrisons and the Survey Corps do all the work!" Marlowe tried to stir them up but again they only laughed at him.

"Why won't YOU do all that, boy?" the MP soldier with the beard said as he poked a finger on Marlowe's chest, hard. "'Coz we're not gonna stand up and be bossed around by the likes of you."

Marlowe gritted his teeth in anger. Of his short time as Military Police it's not new that he saw some members slack around. But this is the worse.

"Besides," the soldier stood up and looks down on Marlowe, "who do you think you're trying to order? I'm your senior around here." he says and threw the crumbs from the bread he was eating, on the ground. "Pick that up."

"Huh?"

"I said _pick that up_. You want to do something good? Then show me how good you are." the soldier mocked and Marlowe dropped his pride and knelt down on the ground to pick up the crumbs. But the soldier took another plate filled with pieces of bread and scattered it on the floor. "Those too."

Hitch walked a little closer to the soldier but was nervous. "Uhm, my friend didn't mean what he said. Please forgive hi-"

" _Don't_ Hitch." Marlowe stopped her before she begs the soldier. "If I will make a change around here, I want to prove to them I can do it. And I will show it to them." he said and continued to pick up the pieces of bread.

"Marlowe..."

"Why won't you help him then? Isn't he your friend?" the soldier said to Hitch and Hitch gulped as she takes a step back from the soldier, contemplating whether or not to drop her pride and dignity as well.

"She doesn't have to." Marlowe said. "I'm done." he said and showed the soldier the bread pieces and crumbs in two of his hands. But the soldier hits his hand and the bread pieces and crumbs that he picked up scattered everywhere.

"There, you're not done anymore, are you?" the soldiers says and his comrades and the other drunkards laughed. Marlowe clenched his fists but picked it up again nonetheless. Hitch felt pity for Marlowe and hurried to help him. The soldier then grabbed one of the silver plates and threw it beside Marlowe. "Use that."

When Marlowe reached for it, Annie steps on the plate.

"Annie?"

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to help your friends?" the soldier asked her with a mocking grin.

"I don't see the point to follow what you say." the small blonde says.

"My rank is higher than any of you, which one of us do you think has the authority?" he walked towards Annie with his arms crossed, looking down on her as well. His comrades snickered from behind.

"I didn't know you had a rank since you're hanging around with a bunch of drunkards. And even now that you tell me, I don't see the need to tell me about it if you're not using your authority well." the small blonde replies, provoking the soldier to use his fists on her.

With her great combat skills, she merely caught his arm and threw him behind her without a problem. Not her height can define her skills to overthrow someone bigger. The other soldiers got up their seats, threatened by her presence but the soldier earlier got up and told them not to attack.

"You dare use the offense on me?" he says. "I could report you and you'll no longer be a part of us."

"The system is corrupted. By the time your cries are heard I will no longer be here." she says. Marlowe and Hitch stared at her in surprise. She barely spoke a word when they talk to her. This is far the longest time she spoke. With her continuous provocation towards the MP who attacked her, he didn't plan to hold back until one of his friends grabbed his arm.

"Wait, I know her! I've seen her before!" the MP said.

"Where?"

"Back when the king invited the saviors and the titan shifter inside the inner city. She called one of the royals a dog that's why she was suspended for months! I bet until now she's still suspended to do anything!"

The soldier who attacked Annie earlier, laughed. "Well, well, you're also a troublemaker. I bet the royal you called a dog wants your head on a platter!"

"He did. But later he bowed to me and gave me his gratitude. So my suspension was lifted before it was even given." replied the blonde and again, the soldiers and the MP who attacked her were now really pissed. "I was given the permission to go anywhere I want, go to work whenever I want and order anyone I want. That includes you."

"Don't mess with me you wench!" the soldier yells with fists clenched. "You're bluffing!"

"Am I?" the blonde takes a step closer to the one who attacked her, intimidating him with her closure to him. "We can test which one of us is lying by calling on the royals to judge us." she takes another step closer to him and she could now see that he was trembling. She was emotionless as she said everything but still, he was intimidated by all this.

"We'll get back at you one day!" he declared and he and his friends ran away.

"Annie... you- were you really...?" Marlowe wanted to ask. All along did Annie had all that power?

"No. The royal I called a dog ordered that I be put to prison for a day before they suspend me." the blonde replies as she walked back to them, stomping her foot on the side of the silver plate to force it to bounce up and she catches it. "I've been slacking off lately because I'm suspended." she tells him.

Marlowe's eye twitched at the revelation, caught in surprise but Hitch on the other hand just laughed.

"Oh my gosh Annie you're the funniest yet gloomiest person I've ever met!" she says while slamming her palms on the ground. "Hilarious!"

"ARE YOU INSANE?! THEY COULD'VE HAD THE GUTS TO CALL ON A ROYAL TO SEE IF YOU'RE LYING OR NOT! WE COULD'VE BEEN BEHEADED!" however Marlowe didn't find it funny. Annie wasn't faze when he yelled though.

"You can't win if you don't risk anything." she replies.

Marlowe opened and closed his hands, contemplating whether or not to give Annie a hard smack on the head for the risk she had to take back there. Hitch chuckles in the background until Marlowe decided. He dropped his hands down and sighed. "Thank you." he says calmly. "BUT it doesn't mind I will allow another risk like that again!"

"It was your fault for bossing around some guys!" Hitch defends Annie.

"We're soldiers! We're supposed to act like one!" Marlowe justified his actions.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. At least we saw how badass Ms. Leonhardt was!" Hitch said and puts an arm over Annie's shoulder, pulling the small blonde closer to her. "YOu never told me you had such skill! And that speech...! Wow! You should speak more often!"

Annie didn't say anything, although she was disturbed with Hitch putting an arm over her as if... as if they're friends.

Later, Annie went home since the two finally realized she was suspended and did not force her to do the rounds with them anymore. But on the way back, she heard a voice call her name.

"Annie." Armin calls her.

She stopped walking and turns to him.

"I need your help." he says.

* * *

Annie followed where Armin was leading her, playing with her silver ring while thinking what to say. When she decided, she stops walking all of the sudden.

"Armin..." she begins. Armin stopped walking as well to look at her. "...did you mean what you said?" she asks. Armin didn't seem to catch up so the blonde expounds. "...when you confessed."

The blonde boy caught up and nodded. "Yes. I meant it." he says and carefully observed the other blonde's reaction. She was too good in hiding everything so he couldn't interpret if she was relieved or not. He turned his back on her to continue walking. "...but I have to do this." he says with a lower tone of his voice. But Annie still heard it.

"You must've prepared that speech from another book." Annie says. Armin was honestly not expecting that she'd say something else. He forced a chuckle in respond to what she said but didn't say a word.

 _No... it's from my heart._ He thought.

The two walked towards Eren and Mikasa's location and wants to lead her underground. But Annie stopped right outside of the opening of the tunnel.

"Why are you stopping?" Mikasa asked. "We need to move forward or Eren's a goner."

"Would you explain to me again why Eren is being hunted?" the asks.

"Because they want to cut Eren open. They have no guarantees if he'll live or not, they just want to go on with it." Mikasa answered.

"Annie please.. I'll just leave for a while, wait for them to cool off then probably we'll come back. Only the Military Police knows the way around these tunnels." Eren says.

"I've never been here before. So I don't know." the blonde answered.

"Don't lie!" Mikasa shouts.

"SHH!" Eren and Armin hushed her but Mikasa only glared at the blonde. As if a lot of anger and hatred was in Mikasa's eyes. Annie returned it with a gloomy and sleepy look in her eyes.

"We can get lost together or we can go another way." she proposed.

"There's _no_ other way."

"I'm not going."

"Annie, please..." Armin pleads. Annie turned her attention to Armin this time.

"I trust you, Armin. But this is as far as my trust goes." she tells him. And right after that a group of men tackles her, quickly wrapping ropes around her body, arms and legs, binding her from any movement. Another man from behind her puts a cloth in her mouth and they pin her to the ground.

Armin runs out of the tunnel, worried what would happen to her.

"Please be careful!" Armin tells the men. Annie... _I'm sorry..._ Armin thought as he watched Hanji go out of hiding, carrying a syringe.

"Good job Arlert." Hanji congratulated. "Now, to test this little chemical on her." she says. "Make sure the ropes are tightly around her." she tells the men before kneeling close to Annie to inject syringe but Hanji notice Annie's finger. A ring with something sharp attached to it and her thumb injuring itself. "EVERYBODY GET BACK!"

And at that moment, Annie transforms into a titan. The female titan.

"GET HER!" Hanji orders.

"Eren!" Mikasa turns to Eren who just froze where he stood. "Eren, you need to fight her!"

"I.. she... all along I knew who she was..." Eren says as he reminisce his memories when he saw Annie the first time in the battlefield. He noticed it the moment the female titan copied Annie's fighting pose and yet... "...but I couldn't get myself to believe it..."

"Eren, now's not the time to feel sorry for her! She's an enemy!"

"I know but- why did she help us back then?!"

"It could be just another titan or maybe she did it to purposely get on our good side!" Mikasa countered. "Eren, that small deed is NOT gonna top what she did to us! To everyone that she killed!"

"Gunther..." Eren remembered.

"Yes! And there's many more that's for sure!" Mikasa continued to press all the buttons to trigger Eren's anger. "We can't let her get away, Eren."

Eren nods at her and smiles before leaning forward to kiss her in the forehead. "Thank you." he says and ran outside, biting on his thumb as well before turning into a titan. Mikasa was caught in surprise and did not move for a while. She then reached for her forehead where Eren kissed her.

"Eren..." she mutters.

* * *

Eren spots dead soldiers everywhere and sees the female titan headed for the walls.

 _You're not going anywhere! Annie... it's time for a rematch._

Eren chases Annie and takes a far leap to tackle her but missed and lands on the ground but he reached for Annie's ankle and she falls also. He crawled on top of her and hits her left and right repeatedly.

 _This time.. this time around... I Win_


	18. Chapter XVII: A Titan's Resolve

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: December 31, 2016- Saturday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **So now we got the almost near end part from the anime. Yeah. And I guess right after that everything else will be made up since season 2 isn't released yet *sighs*. Well, if you guys are loving this, I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. I have no other comments, we all know what happens in this part so...**

 **Ultimate Boredom:** Thank you for your awesome reviews! And yeah I updated it earlier than expected. I got a free time and I couldn't pass it up now that I can feel that this part is getting too intense to be left a cliffy! Aww, thank you! I worked so hard for that action part *laughs*. I'm still working on the right words to use though. And yeah, thanks again, I thought it was actually too much to bear since it's based off from anime and it's predictable, so yeah.. *laughs* about that, there are two writers using this account, so any would do. We write it together anyway. And I'm glad I made it up! *chuckles* I disappeared for a really long time on you. I'll try not to do that again. *laughs* I forgot Annie's laughter. Sorry 'bout that. Maybe we can insert it somewhere along the fic. And lastly... it will not end with the end of anime's season 1.. it will be continued.

 **Without holding you guys any longer, read on!**

 **CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A TITAN'S RESOLVE**

Eren was pounding on Annie, showing not even a hint of mercy as his fists hits her cheeks left and right. Titans bleed dry blood.. shifters bleed as well. Fresh blood.

 _Annie...! I'm not going to forgive you! I can never...!_

The female titan's blood splattered all over Eren's fists and face. He didn't care. He just kept on hitting because of his anger.

"Eren!" Mikasa called out but Eren wouldn't stop. "Eren she's getting away!"

 _Getting away?_

At last Eren stopped hitting, realizing it was only titan skin that he's been hitting. The female titan was running towards the wall to escape. Eren wasn't going to allow that. No. He's NOT going to let her escape. Not after what she's done.

 _You owe humanity... Annie!_

He ran after her in fury but as soon as he got near, Annie suddenly stopped running to give him a surprise kick. Eren's jaw bone cracked at the strong force. But it didn't matter. It was his titan form anyway. He stumbled a little bit on his knees and he got up but this time Annie didn't let him off easy. Giving him an uppercut and Eren was lost to his senses.

"EREN!" Mikasa screamed. She wanted to come and help but... it was Eren's fight. "Eren get up!"

Eren was on the ground now, trying to get up but the female titan stomped repeatedly on his leg and Eren's titan form cried in agony.

"EREN!" Armin himself was worried now. Both people were important to him. But there's only one side to be on. The female titan stopped and glances at Armin and Mikasa's direction for a moment before continuing to run to the walls.

"I'm not letting you get away!" Mikasa yelled and used her 3DMG to hurry and kill the female titan herself. Armin and the other Survey Corps ran to Eren's aid. His titan leg slowly healing.

"Eren..."

 _Darn that Annie! I won't lose...! No matter what it costs me!_

Eren forced himself up and ran even if he were limping. The Survey Corps and Armin took a step back to let Eren continue his mission. However Armin was hesitant to let the mission go on any further.

Mikasa on the other hand gives the female titan swift cuts here and there, regardless of that, the female titan ignored her and aimed to go to the walls. Over the walls. When Mikasa saw that Eren was coming, she stepped back and allowed Eren to make a jump on Annie who looked desperate as she tried to climb up the walls. The female titan didn't show any emotions before just as Annie doesn't, but this time as Armin watches her... he could see her desperation to escape.

Why? Was she afraid to get caught? To die? To lose something?

Both Annie and Eren fell back on the ground with a thud. The female titan landing down first and Eren landing on top of her.

 _ANNIE! YOU TRAITOR! I trusted you!_

In anger he held on to her neck, choking her while his other fist hitting her on her left cheek. It was so strong and so fast that the regeneration doesn't help in any way. When Eren felt the female titan's struggle has gone weak, he stopped choking and continued to beat the female titan, hitting its face and head repeatedly.

Armin's heart ached at the sight. He cared about both people... about the two shifters... he wanted humanity to win... but he cannot stand this sight.

"EREN STOP IT!" he screams.

But Eren doesn't hear him.

"Oi brat that's enough, we need her alive!" Levi yells when Armin's didn't work.

Still, Eren continued bashing the female titan.

 _How could you betray us Annie?! Not only me! Even ARMIN!_

 _He trusted you!_

 _Everything you did until now... was it all for show so you can help the titans?!_

All the questions in Eren's head were left unanswered. In anger he stopped and roared. Levi, Armin, Mikasa and everyone else were relieved that he stopped.

"Alright, go get the female titan's body." Levi ordered his squad but then Eren roared and started to bite on the female titan's neck, pulling it's skin... as if... Eren was going to eat the female titan's shifter.

"EREN!" Mikasa shouts.

"WHAT THE HECK YOU BRAT! I SAID WE NEED HER!" It was Levi who dashed forward to stop the outrage. Mikasa followed his lead.

Armin on the other hand was frozen as he saw what was happening...

 _Eren... did Eren just... attempt to eat Annie!?_ He thought in fear of what's becoming of Eren. Or was it out of pure anger and hatred towards the blonde?

Eren on the other hand was finally able to pull off the female titan's skin and now exposed Annie's neck's human flesh.

 _I will KILL YOU AND ALL THE OTHER TITANS WHO IS AGAINST HUMANITY!_

When he started to bite down on her human skin, the female titan started to squirm underneath Eren, shrieking in pain. Levi didn't like that sound... the sound that was calling for attention... calling for titans...

"STOP IT EREN! She's calling for the titans!" Armin yelled.

 _Calling for titans?!_

Eren's head was filled in so much anger that he understands bits and pieces of what everyone else were saying. The female titan hits the side of his face with a hardened fist continuously until he releases her. Her human flesh bleeding...

Eren's titan skin had shed itself after the hard encounter with the hardened skin of the female titan's fist. Exposing half of Eren's human face. But both eyes show the same resolve of anger and hatred for titans... for his enemies.

The female titan hits him one more time until he felt dizzy and hurried to climb the walls. Mikasa went to Eren while Levi chased after the female titan.

 _What is happening...? Why..? Why is there so much... pain?_ Armin was hurt. He was hurt seeing Eren and Annie that way. _You're both important to me... so please... please stop this..._

When the female titan had reached the top, it shed its hardened titan skin and it almost fell on Levi but he dodged it. However, looking down below was Eren back in his human form and Mikasa helping him up.

"GET OUT OF THERE YOU BRAT!" he warned and Mikasa hurried to get Eren out of the way. Levi stared at Annie who was standing atop the walls, looking at Armin. Without wasting any more time, he used up his gas for a full speed in attempt to cut the blonde's limbs but before the blade could come in contact... the small blonde was crystallized.

Again, Levi's blades broke and Annie who was succumbed by the ice she made around herself, fell over the wall.

"ANNIE!" Armin screams and panicked to hurry to save her.

But a quick net passed by him and went towards the wall. Two large spears on each side to keep the net hanging as the crystallized blonde fell on the net. It broke though but the crystal remains in place.

"Whew, made it in time!" Hanji says.

"Hanji-san?" Armin was relieved that Hanji came to the rescue at the last minute.

"If Annie is planning to commit suicide, well, we won't let her!" Hanji says with a gruesome smile on her face. Not particularly Hanji's best moments, but Armin was glad that even if Hanji's intentions was nothing that 'saves' Annie from trouble, Hanji still saved Annie from death- assuming that when the crystal falls from the walls, it will shatter.

"Quick, put her to custody before she wakes up or something!" Levi quickly instructs the Survey Corps and they hurried to bind the crystal with ropes and chains while Armin watched them to so.

Levi on the other hand jumped down from the wall and stomps to Eren, who is now human and had gotten back on his feet by Mikasa's help. With a loud smack, Levi's fist hits Eren's aching jaw and left Eren stumbling back down the ground, Mikasa now shooting Levi a deadly glare.

"Heichou!" Hanji approaches them.

"This brat almost killed our only way of collecting information from our enemies!" Levi yells, his stare deadlier than Mikasa was focused on Eren who knew he lost himself back there. He didn't even bother getting back on his feet.

"Maybe his titan self was taking over him or something." Hanji tried to theorize.

"If this brat cannot be controlled the next time, I will be the one to kill him." Levi tells Hanji sternly and walks away. Mikasa dropped her glare an knelt down to help Eren up.

"Eren, are you okay?" she asks, worried of him. She doesn't understand what happened to Eren as well, but the part of her that was worried is dominating more than her curious part.

"Well Levi is right, Eren. You almost screwed up back there." Hanji tells him. Although she tried to sound that she doesn't blame Eren for what happened. "But we captured the female titan nonetheless, so it's a job well done for all of us!"

"Hanji-san... do you really believe that it was my titan self that controlled me back there?" Eren asked weakly. He still refuse to stand up.

Hanji pauses for a moment, thinking that maybe the teenage boy were troubled by that. "Not really. I just had to say something to Levi to keep him from sending you more blows." she confesses. "I don't believe Titan shifters loses their will to control their own bodies. But rather, they lose sight of everything when they are clouded with emotions." she tells Eren and winks.

"I- I see."

"I have a question for you though, Eren." Hanji says, her voice now serious. "What were you thinking back then? When you started to eat the female titan's flesh?"

Eren pauses... he wasn't sure what got into him... but what he knew is that.. at first he was just feeling so much hatred for Annie's betrayal- the rage took control of him but it was never his intention to _eat_ Annie!

"I.."

"..felt betrayed?" Hanji tried to guess. Eren nodded slightly, not knowing how to explain how he felt back then. "Well, assuming that's the only cause of your outrage back there, I need you to be careful next time, alright? Titan emotions are far more dangerous than we thought."

Hanji turned her back on them to get back to work. Especially to crack open the crystal Annie was in.

"Wait, do you believe that Eren's emotions are separated from his titan form?" Mikasa asked, curious as to where Hanji was getting at.

Hanji stopped walking but her back remained facing them. "Not really. What I do believe is that, Eren's titan form is merely the reflection of his human self's innermost emotions." she chuckled slightly before continuing. "It's only a theory. Don't worry about it." After saying so, she left them.

Eren was left with mixed emotions of what happened. Armin and Mikasa the same.

* * *

 **What will happen to Eren now?**

 **Will the crystal be opened and Annie escapes?**

 **What about Armin? How will he deal with this?**

 **More questions than answers. Check out on the next chapter!**

* * *

Must be the most confusing battle I've ever written *laughs*. Anyway, to keep you guys reminded, their titan forms are not as big as the one in the anime. Just as I explained in the past chapters, titans are a few/several feet taller than average humans. So basically when Eren/Annie turns into a titan, they grow a bit and get covered with titan skin. Is that clear? Okay, cool.

Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter XVIII: Aftermath of Things

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: January 2, 2017- Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Heyya guys! Welcome to the year 2017, another great year to start off the next chapter of this fic! Hopefully you guys send your reviews about your thoughts on this... I'd love to read 'em!**

 **So in this chapter, I will be writing a short one, according to what happened at our short Female Titan Arc. Everything that will happen from here onwards will not be based on anime since SNK Season 1 stopped there. When Season 2 comes out, I'll take note if ever I will be basing off the fic in the anime again. And nope, no manga either. Because I've planned out a lot of chapters already. So to cut my chattering short, let's start.**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE AFTERMATH OF DECISIONS**

Armin was in Erwin's office before the Capture for the Female Titan began. He was sitting silently in the middle, facing Erwin. While Levi and Hanji were right behind him. An intense aura was in the office. The silence was a little too long after Armin tells Erwin about the identity of the Female Titan.

"Are you sure of this?" Erwin asked. "Annie Leonhardt being the Female Titan?"

"Yes." Armin replied, his fists tightening above his lap.

"Before I ask you of your proof.. what made you decide to tell me about this? About the Female Titan's true identity?"

It was one of the biggest decisions Armin had to make. And now Erwin questions Armin's motive for saying this? Armin knew Erwin has a reason behind his questions and decided not to question Erwin about it. He locked his eyes on the Commander to show Erwin that everything he's going to say is sincere and true.

"I am a soldier than swore an oath to protect everyone within these walls that our forefathers built. It is my duty to tell the Commander of what I know about the Female Titan's case." with that said, Erwin smirked at him and leaned back to his seat, now ready to listen to Armin's evidence.

"Okay soldier, let's hear how you found out the Female Titan's identity before we make any rash actions about this." Erwin says.

Armin took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, about Annie.. she's not the type to mingle with anyone. She just stands there among the crowd and you wouldn't know she was there unless you look for her. Her ideals about life is far different than the rest of us 104th recruits. It was as if.. she's spent her past outside the walls." Armin wasn't sure either.. but if he were to compare Annie to the others, she was different. And most importantly.. she's hiding something. "T- That's only a theory at least."

"Alright, proceed."

"My last encounter with Annie was before our expedition. I saw her crying that night. She didn't say anything until she stopped crying."

 _Flashback (reference chapter 13):_

 _"Yeah. I love you Annie." he says. "That's what I'm trying to say."_

 _The small blonde's fingernails were digging into the cloth and reaching for his skin. It hurts. But he can pretend it doesn't. For the meantime anyway. The moment lasted for a while longer before the blonde finally stopped crying._

 _"Armin.." Annie says but kept her eyes locked on his chest._

 _"Yes?" relieved that the small blonde decided to speak, Armin smiled at her._

 _"..this never happened." she says sternly and got back on her feet. Armin was left sitting, looking up at her with a worried look on his face. Annie however was now emotionless. Her eyes were swollen from crying but regardless of that she ignored it. She wiped her tears with the side of her arm. "Forget this happened."_

 _"But Annie, if someone's hurting you just tell-"_

 _"Armin!" Annie says loudly and harshly. "I said.. forget this happened." with that she turned her back on him._

 _"If you're going to say that without any explanation then it's impossible for me to forget it!" Armin stood up and grabbed her hand. She didn't jerk her hand from him. "Look.. if this is about me telling others you cry at night, I won't."_

 _"Do you want to die, Armin?"_

 _"What?" Armin was surprised at the sudden change of topic. The sudden change of Annie's tone of voice._

 _"If you don't want to die.. then forget this ever happened." she says and pulled her hand back. "Or I will kill you.. I will have to kill you, Armin."_

 _End_

(reference chapter 14)

"Right after that, the expedition began.." Armin continued narrating. "The squad I was in saw the Female Titan running at a speed that was faster than our horses. It wasn't attacking us until we made the first attack. The Female Titan has the ability to shed its titan skin and form a hardened weapon. The icicles."

"I take it the Female Titan didn't attack you?" Erwin tried to guess.

"No. She was attacking only those who raised their weapons against her. But one of her icicles almost killed me. A comrade saved me from death and at that moment, the Female Titan acted as if.." Armin's memory about the incident flashed before his eyes and further meditated on it to describe it clearly to Erwin. "..as if she was saying sorry to me. I was too afraid to fight but I took the courage to ask who it was."

"Did she answer?" Erwin asks.

"No. She ignored me and ran away to continue her pursuit on Eren."

"I thought you said that she threatened you the night before the expedition. Then why didn't she kill you that moment?" Levi asked when he remembered Armin's story earlier.

"A question I'd like to ask her as well. Anyway, Reiner and Jean came to help me after that but the Female Titan effortlessly beat them before moving forward." Armin finishes.

"Again, she didn't kill them." Erwin says, noticing some kind of pattern. "The Female Titan doesn't kill anyone from the 104th Squad. Because she's from there. Is that part of your theory?" Armin nodded. "Okay, assuming she does not plan on killing anyone from the 104th Squad then why is Nic, Marco and Samuel dead? Unless she had nothing to do with it?"

"There is a different shifter out there. The Colossus Titan. It's bigger than Eren and the Female Titan." Armin answers. "Not to mention, Sasha, Connie and Hanna was telling us about a different titan in armor back at the battle in Wall Maria."

"Assuming there are currently four shifters, it means it's possible that there are more." Erwin concludes.

"Yes." Armin agrees.

"Well this just got more interesting! Maybe the baby titans has something to do with it!" Hanji exclaims.

"We'll talk about the baby titans later." Erwin tells Hanji who pouted afterwards. "Arlert, proceed with your report."

"After the expedition, I asked the Military Police for Annie's location at the time when we were in the expedition. They said that Annie was suspended to do any work when the royal that Eren argued with the other day was offended by Annie's words."

"For short, she has no alibi in the Military Police." Levi says. "And most likely she has all the time she needs to come after us and kill Gunther." whether or not Levi holds a grudge, Armin doesn't know. But surely that last part has some sort of bitterness in it.

"Yes. And also.. the 3D Maneuver Gear that Eren saw from the soldier that time (reference from chapter 15).. it was Marco's.."

"Marco Bodt? How would you know it's his?" Erwin asks. Not that he questions Armin but because he wants to know Armin's basis for claiming the 3DMG as Marco's.

"Marco and I used to do the checkups on our 3DMG together. I know the noise it makes and the graze at the side. Something Marco purposely slashed at." Armin replies. "And since Marco is dead at that time, it is impossible that it was him. Also.. Marco's 3DMG has been missing ever since his death."

"And Annie stole it. It would also make sense that Annie killed Marco in the process." Levi says.

"Well, this might not be enough but to write Annie as one of our suspects is safer than anyone else." Erwin says. "Hanji, prepare the troops. We will capture the Female Titan. At all costs."

"Hoorah!" Hanji immediately left the room to prepare everything.

"Levi, call on Eren and Mikasa. We need a bait for this. Assuming Annie really wants Eren, then he is the perfect bait."

"We will decide just like that?" Levi questioned him.

"Yes."

* * *

(Back at the present)

Eren was in his room back at the barracks, lying down on his bed and looking up the sky. He was thinking about a lot of things.. and one of those things was the incident when they captured the Female Titan yesterday. And.. the memories flashing in his head ever since he tried to eat Annie herself.

Mikasa knocks on his door.

"Come in." Eren says sadly and Mikasa entered the room.

"I'm surprised they didn't lock you up." Mikasa says.

"Armin pulled some strings I guess." Eren said with a tone of sadness in his voice. "They called him earlier and he's still not back."

"Don't let it bother you. It's natural to hate someone that much." Mikasa tells him.

"And in exchange I almost destroy our only hope of gathering information on our enemies?" Eren questions her, his voice raising in anger but he kept it to a minimum. After all.. he's still guilty for what he did.

"But you didn't. That's what matters."

"I wanted to."

"Wanted to what?" Eren didn't answer. He just kept his eyes locked on the wooden floor. Mikasa doesn't understand it. Why is Eren being affected that way? Why does he act as if.. "Eren, I don't get why you.. why you feel this way! You act as if you've been betrayed by someone you love!"

Mikasa don't normally shout. But right now it's easier to say that she's... jealous.

She leaves the room and Eren was left realizing that.. that fact. _I see.. so that's what it was.. I was mad at Annie for betraying me.. not because she betrayed Armin or anyone else.. but because she betrayed me. I must be so selfish.._

 _All this anger I've been feeling.. is not just he betrayal.. it's because she didn't choose me. Her betrayal was just a trigger for my emotions to vent out. I'm a terrible person.. a terrible soldier.. a terrible best friend.._

* * *

Meanwhile, Armin asks for permission to visit Annie after Erwin talked to him about baby titan theories. Permission was granted.

He visits Annie.

Annie was surrounded by ice and the ice by bound by several thick chains around it and guards in and out of the cell. It was a dark room in the basement.

Armin reaches to touch the ice but then the guards scolds him, telling him that no one is allowed to touch it. Armin yanked his hand back and kept it to himself. His eyes locked on Annie's through that ice.

 _Annie.. I will be back to talk with you.. I promise._

* * *

Jean was on his way to Sasha's room to give her some bread. But on his way he was lucky enough to see Mikasa. He smiled and blushed almost immediately.

"Mikasa, hey!"

Mikasa ignored him? Or maybe Mikasa didn't hear him?

"Mikasa?"

Whatever the reason was, Jean can see that Mikasa was in pain.

 _Mikasa.. it must be that darned Eren again!_

* * *

In Eren's room came another knock.

"Mikasa?" Eren wondered if she came back. But he was surprised to see an angry Jean holding a loaf of bread.

"HOW DARE YOU MAKE MIKASA CRY!" Jean scolds.

"What?"

"Don't act so innocent! There's no other person that can make Mikasa cry other than you!" Jean pokes Eren's chest with the loaf of bread in his hand. "And.. there's also no other person that can make Mikasa smile but you! So you better take care of her or I will have to fight with you with or without your titan powers!"

Jean threw the bread at him and left the room. Eren was left alone again.

 _I'm sorry Jean.. Mikasa.._

When someone knocked again, Eren opened the door and sees Reiner.

"Hey. Captain's summoning us for another meeting. Looks like we're off for another expedition."

* * *

 **The aftermath's effect is ruining them! What is going to happen to them now?**

 **What expedition is being planned out now?**

 **Armin, Eren and Mikasa's friendship is shattering slowly?**

 **Find out what happens next!**

* * *

Okay so I'll see you guys on the next chapter! Hopefully you drop your reviews! Thanks!


	20. Chapter XIX: Shiganshina I

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: January 3, 2017- Tuesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **So as a little announcement, this chapter will now enter slow mode phase as we solve the mystery in Shiganshina and of course, the baby titans! Eren and the others will return to Shiganshina to investigate! Yeah, nothing much interesting. But again, stay with me guys!**

 **And pretty much overall my fics, this is the one I will update the most. I got hooked up to it I guess. So stay tuned and please if you have the time, drop me some reviews, thank you in advanced!**

 **Without further ado, read on!**

 **CHAPTER NINETEEN: SHIGANSHINA I**

"As you all know, we have several mysteries in our hands. Titan shifters, baby titans, the titans' origin, a possibility for a cure, the Nightraid attack.. and all of those cannot be answered by a girl who locked herself in a crystal." Erwin says as he scanned through thick reports from their past cases. "We decided to expand our expedition for investigation of these cases. But I'd like to focus on the baby titans for now."

"Yes!" Hanji 'silently' exclaims at the back.

"Hanji, please explain your theories on this." Erwin says and Hanji gladly hops in front to explain.

"Baby titans!" she repeats. "They possibly came from two origins. One is that a partial human and partial titan bore them, just as the one that Sasha and Connie found or a titan shifter bore them. Either option is not proven in any case. Since titans have no reproductive organs or any of the sort, it's impossible that they are the one making these baby titans."

"If titan shifters are the parent of these baby titans.. does that mean Eren's parents, Grisha and Karla Jaeger are titan shifters as well?" Armin asked.

"Well theoretically speaking, yes. Or at least one of them is the titan shifter. Eren possibly inherited those genes of some sort." Hanji replied. "I can make a crucial study on this but I lack the equipment and time for it. Especially with the raids and attacks recently."

The brunette boy looks down on his fists that were on top of his lap, thinking. His father was a titan? Or perhaps his mother? No. If his mother were a titan then she would've turned already when she was in danger.. unless she doesn't want Eren to see and the possibility that she's alive and surviving in Shiganshina all alone, is possible. It was a small hope that Eren clings to at that moment.

"Now since these baby titans were not seen by anyone other than the two witnesses before, it's possible that they are taken by other titan shifters or they turned into humans and were eaten." When Hanji said that they were eaten, some soldiers groaned in disgust but some in fear for the babies' fate. "Well there's a lot of possibilities actually but we will stick with searching for Eren's mother."

"Huh?"

Everyone turned to Eren, wondering if he knew anything about it. Eren himself however, was surprised.

"I thought we were going to look for the baby titans?" Reiner says.

"Our first suspect of being a baby titan is Eren Jaeger."

"WHAT?!" Mikasa and Armin said in unison. Eren kept quiet but his mouth left agape and his eyes widened.

"His mother, Karla Jaeger wasn't entirely seen to be killed. Hannes' report was that his comrades 'shot' Karla and she's dead. But there was NO BODY FOUND. Which serves the possibility that she's still alive and probably still living in Shiganshina." Hanji explains.

"What nonsense are you blabbering now, Hanji?" Levi asks.

"Nonsense? This isn't nonsense!" Hanji cries at Levi. "If ever Karla is indeed deceased then we will move on to search for no other than Grisha Jaeger!" with the mention of Eren's father's name, his heart skipped a beat. "After all, this will either prove my theory true or false!"

"Erwin?"

When everyone turned to Erwin, he was sitting rather calmly in his seat, his eyes darted Armin a stare. "Do you have any say for this.. Armin?" when he said that, everyone's eyes turned to Armin. And the blonde boy was shocked that Erwin was giving him a voice in this expedition.

"I- I think.. we should give it a shot." he replies.

"Why is that?" Jean inquires.

"Because we need to know where Eren got his titan shifting abilities." Armin replies. Armin held something back. Erwin saw it and no one else did except him. Erwin smirked and nodded.

"Hanji, this expedition is yours. Levi and the Garrisons will assist you." Erwin instructs and Hanji and she saluted him with a smile on her face. "Make sure that everyone from the 104th Squad comes with you."

When everyone left, Erwin placed a palm on Armin's shoulder to stop him from exiting the room.

"You hesitated to say something else, soldier." Erwin says. Armin wasn't surprised. As expected from a general of course! "What is it?" Armin took time to reply so Erwin nudged him a bit. "Is it perhaps related to our little prisoner in the basement?"

"Y- Yes."

"What of it?"

(reference prologue, chapter 1)

"I remember seeing Annie in Shiganshina when we were young."

"Oh, so she grew up there?" the general continued to inquire. But Armin shook his head. "No?"

"She was with the kids that the Survey rescued from one of their scouts." Erwin nodded, telling Armin to keep going. "Well.. I don't think she literally was 'rescued' by the Survey along with the other brought-ins. It's more like.. she snuck in by pretending to be a victim as well. When I first met her I was delighted to meet someone who has a different point of view about the outside world but when she spoke back then.. it was as if she's been in the outside world already."

"Interesting theory, Arlert." Erwin compliments. "So ever since the little Leonhardt was a child, she's been an enemy of humanity all along. I take it she knows more than what we can ask."

"I planned to talk to her again actually. But it was later that day that Shiganshina was attacked."

"Summing it up, it means it's plausible to think that Annie might've left a trail of some sort back in Shiganshina?" Erwin wanted to confirm and the blonde boy nodded. "Good work, soldier. Then I'd like to hear your reports about this when you get back."

* * *

Returning to Shiganshina wasn't as exciting as it was before. Eren wasn't sure he was ready to see the truth.

When Jean saw it.. the ruins and the number of titans in Shiganshina.. he felt sorry for Eren, Mikasa and Armin. After all, he never knew that they had such terrible experience. A traumatic one that is.

 _No wonder, they turned out to be who they are now._ Jean thought. _They're strong. Because of this._

"Alright, let's split up into teams. Six per team. Search for any signs of life and report back immediately if you found one." Levi instructs the soldiers. "Each team will be accompanied by a Garrison. If there's a sign of trouble, immediately fire a flare or retreat."

While Levi was telling them the main rules of scouting, Eren was pretty much not listening. He had a lot of things in his mind. A lot of things he wants to say to his mother, a lot of things he wants to ask.. so many things.

"Eren.. are you okay?" Krista asked, worried of Eren's mental state.

"Uh yeah. I'm fine, Krista." Eren tells her and forces a very obvious smile that doesn't prove he's okay.

"Geez, quit worrying Krista you jerk!" Ymir goads him.

"It wasn't intentional!"

"Wasn't intentional? You stand there with a puppy face like that, think no one would notice?" Ymir says and pokes him in the chest.

"Hey! I don't have a puppy face!" Eren disagrees with that statement.

"P- Please don't fight!" Krista was worried that because of her the two were going to start a commotion and get in trouble. Not something that the 'angel of 104th squad' wants to happen now, would she?

But then the two started to laugh. Confusing the angelic blonde. Making Mikasa jealous.

 _Eren.. Eren is happy. But never with me._ Mikasa thought. _He's happy when he's with other girls. Why?_

Jean noticed it but wasn't sure what to say. He already told Eren not to hurt Mikasa anymore but it's like Eren's ignoring his warning.. or was he? He cannot blame Eren if he's just naturally dense. Or he doesn't really see Mikasa that way..

"Since when did you two enjoy hanging out with each other?!" Krista exclaims when the two didn't notice that she's confused.

"W- We don't." Eren replies.

"Eh?"

"I'm just trying to lighten up Eren's mood since you're worried of him." Ymir answers.

"Oh."

"Oi are you brats listening to me?" Levi interjects when he noticed the small commotion from their side. Eren and the others quickly straightens their backs and salutes Levi with a repeatedly nod to tell him that they were listening. Levi merely squints his eyes at them and leaves.

* * *

They were divided into teams of seven, including the Garrison that will guide them around. Since Garrisons know every nook and cranny of the place. Especially those assigned to Shiganshina back then.

Armin was grouped with Thomas, Sasha, Connie, Petra and Oluo. Hannes being their Garrison escort.

"There isn't much titans on this part. Do you think they're done eating everyone here that's why they left?" Sasha asks.

"They didn't leave. They're probably out scouting or something." Connie says and Sasha gives him a smack at the back of his head. "Hey! That was unaccounted for!"

"Hey kids, you're soldiers right?" Oluo said when he noticed the two idiots were goofing around. The two nodded at him. "Then start acting like one! It's no time to play like a bunch of retards. We're in a serious case here."

"S- Sorry." the two muttered their apologies.

"You're being too harsh, Oluo." Petra mutters.

"The kids gotta learn you know? Not everything is a game."

While they were scouting the area that they are assigned to scout, Armin had been meaning to ask Hannes something. But he couldn't ask it in front of others. Especially that they don't know that Annie's been to Shiganshina before. As much as possible he wants to make it his mission to prove to everyone Annie is a victim just like everyone else is.

"Guys look over there!" Thomas points at a certain child running away from the titans.

"That's a kid!" Petra exclaims and uses her 3DMG to hurry and save the child. "Oluo take the kid! I got the titans!"

"Right with you, Petra!" Oluo says and rushes with his 3DMG to snatch the kid from danger.

"Wow, good job Thomas!" Sasha pats him in the back. "You got a keen eye on survivors!"

"Oh thanks."

 _A kid? In a place like Shiganshina? How can a child actually survive a place like this? It's crawling with titans!_ Armin thought. Then he turns to Hannes. "Hannes-san." Maybe he can seize this moment for a while.

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember that kid I was talking with the day before the attack on Shiganshina occurred?" he asked. It took Hannes a while to think about it.

"Yes, I do."

"I want to ask you something then."

"Is this about that girl they got? The traitor of humanity?" Hannes tried to guess. _Traitor of humanity, huh? Is that what everyone thinks of Annie now?_ a thought in Armin's head. This pushed him all the more to want to prove her innocence.

"When the Survey brought her in.. did they mention from what village they took her from?"

"About that Armin.. I don't think Annie was ever taken by the Survey to Shiganshina. It's more like she went to Shiganshina by herself." Hannes replied. "When the new brought-ins were taken to the Guest Hall, I was there all the way, but not once did I see her there. Until that day.. when you were talking to her.. I never knew such child was actually there."

 _Just as I thought.. Annie was.. she's not rescued at all. Could it be that she's a shifter ever since she was a child? Just like Eren is? Or is Eren even a shifter since he was a boy? No, there's too much possibilities. But one thing is for sure.. Annie purposely went to Shiganshina. But for what reason?_

 _Who brought her there? How did she get in? Why didn't anyone see her? Why only at that time.. that I noticed her? That I'm the only one who noticed she was there?_

 _Or maybe everyone else chose to ignore her?_

While Armin was stuck in thought, Hannes spoke again. "After you and Eren left though, Dr. Jaeger arrived that night and went inside the Guest Hall."

"Eren's father?"

"Yes. He said he wanted to visit someone. I escorted him in and was only able to glance at him giving Annie a hug."

 _What?_

"That's all about it before I left anyways."

 _What is going on here? Eren's father? Hugging Annie? What's their relation? Who the heck is Annie for real?_

"Operation save the kid success!" Sasha and Connie exclaims and it caught Hannes and Armin's attention back to the team.

"Let's take this child back to Levi." Petra says. The kid was just holding onto Petra's cloak. He didn't look scared. In fact, he looked as emotionless as Annie was when Armin first met Annie when they were young.

 _This kid..._


	21. Chapter XX: Shiganshina II

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: January 6, 2017- Friday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **supboyyyyy93:** Why hello there! You're so far the second person to review, so thank you for that! I'm already writing the next chapter when I read your review, makes me happy, thank you again!

 **Ultimate boredom:** Heyya! I know you weren't around the last time but I want you to know that this fic will continue, auright? Regardless of me going MIA, my partner will be there to update this. *chuckles* What I'm trying to say is, we'll try our best to finish this! All chapters are plotted already, all that's left is for us to type! Hope to hear from you again soon! *smiles*

 **Okay, now back to my A/N chattering. So last time we stopped with lots of mysteries. Yeah I keep piling up mysteries for you guys and nothing gets solved. Sorry about that. Note: Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie are not mentioned to live in the same hometown okay? I hope that doesn't confuse anyone.**

 **So now let's move on to Shiganshina part 2 and let's see what we can figure out!**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY: SHIGANSHINA II**

Eren was with Ymir, Krista, Reiner, Hanna and Rico. With a Garrison for escort. They were at the northern part of Shiganshina, searching for any signs of life. Not counting the titans as 'signs of life' though. Eren however, was confused as to what to think about his parents.

 _They could be shifters? Or just mom is.. or dad.. or maybe it's just me who is weird?_

"Eren. If you're going to sulk again, I will be forced to plunge this blade," she points her sword to his chest. "in your heart." Ymir threatens when he noticed of Eren's gloomy aura. She started to keep an eye out for him since she doesn't want Krista to babysit him. Krista _might_ fall in love with him.

"Y- Ymir?"

"Don't misunderstand me. I don't care about you." Ymir quickly added while putting her sword back to its case. "In _that_ way. I just don't want to see Krista worrying about you. Since you don't seem to be very good at hiding your sadness."

"Uh yeah. Again, so-"

"And if you say another word that you don't mean, I will plunge both of my swords in your lungs next!"

It's quite ironic that he didn't feel threatened by her words. In fact, it made him feel a bit better.

 _Maybe I'm just worrying too much._ _And that makes me out of character._

* * *

"Heichou! We found a survivor!" Petra notified her captain.

"A survivor?" Levi was as surprised as Armin was. Who would've thought there'd be a survivor in a place like Shiganshina? It's been years since it's been overrun by titans. And still there's a survivor. What a shocker it was.

"A child in fact." Oluo added.

"What?"

* * *

They barricaded themselves in the Guest Hall to rest. And also to ask the kid some questions. Eren sat beside Armin after hearing news that it was their group that found the survivor. Mikasa didn't seem to want to sit with them at that moment. Jean noticed it but did not do anything rash. He knew Eren has something to do with it but he decided to let it go for now.

"What's your name?" Levi asks the kid.

It was a small boy with light brown hair, has scars all over his arms and face but no sign of bite marks. His clothes were old and ragged. But they gave him something to drink and eat before interrogating him.

( _This kid is definitely NOT from the anime, okay? You can count him as OC but not necessary important/main_ )

"Are you here to take me?"

"Yeah, we're here to take you to safety." Hannes assured the boy they were allies.

"I thought everyone was already dead. Where did you guys come from?"

"Well-"

Levi interjects when he noticed that the boy was the one asking them questions instead of them. "Oi quit asking us questions. We're the one in charge of you here. So speak up!"

"Levi, really? He's just a boy!" Hanji however didn't want to force the kid to talk.

"How can a boy like him survive in a hellhole like this? Hmm?" Levi crosses his arms. Indeed Shiganshina was a wreck. So it pretty much begs the question.. how the heck did the boy survive? Alone?

"I'm _not_ from here. I _came_ here looking for some people." the boy responds. He can feel that they were suspicious of him anyway.

"You came here alone?" Armin inquires.

"No. I was with my older brother and his team. We were attacked by titans and I got separated." the boy answered. Armin carefully observed the boy's eyes to see if for some reason he was lying. But he wasn't.

"How long since you got separated from them?" Hannes asked.

"About half and a week ago."

"They're dead." Levi said straight on. There's no point in lying to the boy. "If they're still alive we would've seen them by now. And they would've found you."

Armin and Levi carefully observed the boy's reactions, seeing that he was depressed at the news. Tears didn't pour out from his eyes though. As if he expected it anyways. As if.. he's used to it. People dying.

"Don't worry. You can come home with us. There are plenty of kids there and you can play with them too." Hannes said, trying to nicely invite the boy to join their group.

"Sure, I'd love that!"

"Well anyway, who are you looking for here? This place is a mess." Eren took his turn to ask.

"I don't know their names. And I'm honestly not sure if they are living here." the little one replied sadly.

 _He doesn't know who he's looking for? That's rather odd._

Levi was beginning to suspect the kid even more. Who risks their life to search for someone they don't know who and not even certain with their location. Armin knew that feeling. In fact, majority of the ones present was suspicious of the boy.

"That's just illogical! How do you expect to find someone you don't know!" Jean snaps.

"I don't. I'm just tagging along with my brother. He's the one with this mission, not me."

"You didn't inquire of any details about this mission?" Levi asks, annoyed at how much the boy leaves them more questions than answers. Armin however caught something from the boy.

"I'm not allowed to know anything until the right age."

"Listen.. you said it's your brother's mission. Who are you people? And where did you come from?" Armin asks.

The kid didn't answer, as if he failed to cover up on that one. Levi can see the fear in his eyes now and sense that the boy was more afraid than ever.

"I.. I.."

"It's okay. We won't hurt you. We just want to help. We can take you home if you want." Armin must've made the wrong approach so he is trying to keep it with good terms with their only lead on discovering more answers.

"..."

Giving them the silent treatment wasn't a smart move at all. Because he just started to piss Levi off. Levi stomped towards the boy to give him a good beating but Armin blocked his path and took the hit instead. Eren and the others were surprised at the turn of events. They boy takes a step back from Armin and was now wary of everyone.

"Armin!" Eren and Mikasa screams and ran towards him.

"Levi!" Hanji yells. "I'm still in charge you know!"

"Well this pathetic brat is just messing with us! He's not telling us anything and probably filling our heads with lies!" Levi exclaims in anger.

"Armin.."

"I'm okay." Armin says and smiles. Although his bruised cheek said otherwise. "Where's the kid?"

They all turned to the boy who was at the corner. Fearing to ever come near them. But Armin knew what that paranoia is like. He knew someone like that. _If I'm right.. if this kid has any sort of connection at all with her.. then.._

"Tell me.. one of these people that you're looking for.. is she a blonde with blue eyes?" Armin asks.

Eren and the others kept silent but they were curious as to where Armin was leading the conversation. The boy looks down a bit, guilty of what happened to Armin.

"H- How did you know?" he says when he faced Armin again.

"This girl's name is Annie. Does it ring a bell?"

"Y- Yes. I remember hearing that name before." the boy replied. But very cautious of Levi's actions. "Do you know where to find her?"

"Why are you looking for her?" Krista asks all of the sudden, cutting what Armin had to say.

"She never came home." the boy replied sadly.

"Are you telling me, she lives in your hometown? Where is that?! Who is she? And her friends? What are they?!" Armin had no idea what's going on but this boy could be the answer to all his questions.

"HEICHOU!" cried one of the Survey guards. "We're under-!"

They didn't have to say since suddenly the doors and walls of the Guest Hall banged from the outside.

"What's that sound?" asked Krista as she steps back from the walls and windows. Ymir was right behind her.

"Titans. They're here." the soldiers reported.

* * *

The titans outside were trying to break through the doors and walls and windows. It wouldn't be anything serious but how can they escape if they're surrounded by a thick number of titans outside!

"There's no way out, heichou! We're surrounded!" reported one of the Survey.

"They got us stranded here." Eld reports.

"Darn it." Levi cursed under his breath. But then he glances at the boy that was sitting beside Krista who was calming him down. "YOU! You CALLED for them didn't you?!" Levi yells at the boy.

Krista was startled and scared but pulls the boy behind her to face Levi with trembling legs.

"Levi, we've been through this. The boy has nothing to do with this." Hanji tells him as she went in between him and Krista. "We saw how the Female Titan did it. She had to actually 'cry' to call for titans. And if this boy is really a shifter, all his scars would've healed by now!"

"Then how the hell is it possible that all these titans are surrounding us?!"

"For now we have no explanation for it! Our goal here is to get out of here alive!"

Levi and Hanji have mutual respect for each other on each of their specialties. They have differences, lots of them, but it never gets in the way... until now. Ymir saw Levi holding his sword and was asserting the situation seeing Krista protecting the boy. Eren saw the look in Ymir's eyes.

"Don't."

"Who does he think he is?"

"Captain Levi sometimes does stuff like this. But I'm sure that he'd never hurt anyone without a good reason." Eren says, based on his experience with the captain. "Krista isn't doing anything wrong. Just leave it at that."

After saying so, Eren went back to breaking the ceiling.

Eren, Ymir and the other Surveys and Garrisons climbed up to the ceiling to make a hole in the Guest Hall roof. There might be a better chance for them to escape. Armin on the other hand was trying to construct a new plan.

"Anything yet?" Jean asks him.

"No."

"Well anytime now. I don't think this place would hold." Jean notifies Armin in case he's not aware. The building wasn't going to crack anytime soon. But they can't wait for that time. They have to get out of there or the number of titans might increase.

"Alright Jean, I got one!" Armin exclaims. His got this look again.

Jean sighed.

"That took faster than I thought." he says. _When Bertholdt told me to annoy him to help him come up with something.. I thought it was a joke. I guess it works._

"Jean, call on Eren. We got some work to do."

* * *

Meanwhile, Reiner and Bertholdt were trying to keep one of the windows closed by covering it with the set of old cabinets in the Guest Hall.

Levi, Eld, Oluo and Mike came to help.

"Are you sure there's nothing you know that can help our situation right now?" Hanji tried to ask the boy again.

"I don't know anything okay? About this- this Female Titan and all that! All I can tell you is that this Annie person carries the burden of her father. She and the others. Her friends. They all carry their father's burdens!"

"Carry their father's... burden?"

 _BANG! CRACK! CRACK!_

Hanji looks up to see Eren's titan form making a hole big enough for people to fit in up the ceiling. _Looks like Arlert was able to come up with something._ _He's impressively fast at coming up with something_.

One by one they climbed up using their 3DMG with Petra taking the kid with her up the roof.

"Okay, now what?" Jean asks Armin when half of them were already on the roof.

"You and Eren be the bait. Lead them away from us so we can escape."

"Oh very nice, Armin." Jean says sarcastically. Eren however nods since he's a titan he can't really speak. He grabs Jean to follow him and Eren makes a commotion in the center of the group of titans surrounding them. Eren punches a titan here and there, catching their attention. But now Eren wasn't sure how to get out of there. Jean rolled his eyes and knew what his role was.

Jean swings himself to cut the titans' limbs and head so Eren can get enough space to jump and run. Mikasa and the others who were available followed Jean's lead to help Eren. When Eren could move, he punches his way out of the crowd and runs an opposite direction to follow Armin's plan. Jean, Mikasa, Reiner, Rico, Mike and a few other Surveys came with them to back Eren up.

They will ump from roof to roof using their 3DMG to make sure Eren doesn't get eaten down there.

Not the whole pack of titans went after Eren but at least the mass of titans lessened. Levi pats Armin's back but quickly stopped it before Armin can see who did it.

"What's next?"

"We get out of here." Armin says.

The soldiers swings their 3DMG to hurry and get out of harm's way. Armin watched the soldiers swing around with their 3DMG but noticed the there was no sign of the kid with Petra.

"Hey, where's the boy?" Armin asked.

"Huh? Bertholdt took him. He said you want to talk to him."

"Bertholdt?"

Petra noticed something was up with Armin's question. Armin knew it might cause any misunderstanding so he quickly masked it with a fake smile. Petra already saw through it though.

"Uh yeah Bertholdt! I remember now! Thanks Petra!" Armin ran back to the hole remembering Bertholdt haven't left yet but before he can even jump, Bertholdt had just climbed up. "Bertholdt? Where is he?"

"Where is who?" he asked innocently.

"What did you do to him?"

"Do to who, Armin?"

"You know who I'm talking about!"

Armin was caught off guard when he was pulled by someone from behind and Armin and the boy lost balance, slipping from the roof towards the end, Armin was glad to have Krista catch his hand before he could fall. The kid however had a terrible fate as he fell on the number of titans below.

"The boy.."

"I'm sorry Armin." Krista apologized that she wasn't able to save the boy too.

* * *

At the end of their expedition, Hanji made her reports and Armin made his special report.

"Well? What did you discover?" Erwin asked.

"Annie.. she has two more friends who I believe is also a shifter."

"Hmm? Any idea who they are?"

Armin remembered how odd Bertholdt has been acting recently but kept quiet about it. "No. Not yet."

"We can always look into it some other time. Anything else though? I heard from Hanji that your group found a survivor. A boy."

"Yes. But he fell to his death on our escape." Armin reported sadly. But deep inside he lied again. He can remember clearly that the boy was pulling Armin back then. Why? So he can be pushed to death?

"Such a shame. We could've taken some information from him."

"Yeah. A shame."

"You did well on your performance, Armin. I look forward into working with you as part of my inner council."


	22. Chapter XXI 1: Little Soldiers

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: January 7, 2017- Saturday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **How would you guys feel for a bonus chapter? Sounds great? Cool. Because in this chapter we'll talk about a certain someone's past. A short bonus chapter. Yeah it's not really a mystery who the 'other friends' are. Even if I didn't say they're all from the same hometown.**

 **Hope you all enjoy now!**

 **WARNING! EVERYTHING HERE IS A MADE-UP! NOT DEPENDING ON ANIME/MANGA! I REPEAT, WARNING! EVERYTHING THIS PAST IS JUST MY OWN CREATION! I HAVE NO CLUE AS TO WHAT ISAYAMA HAVE IN MIND SO THIS IS WHAT I CAME UP WITH! READ AT YOUR OWK RISK! WARNING, THIS CHAPTER WILL NOT DEPEND ON ANIME/MANGA! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!**

 **Now that we have that settled. Let's start!**

 **CHAPTER 20.1: LITTLE SOLDIERS**

In a certain village located outside of the walls, and when I say walls, I'm talking about the really big wall that encircles the land where Trost is located. Where the Tall Trees and everything else are located. To cut it short, you can say that this BIG WALLS around Trost is simply like a backyard of something. The Outside World.

The thing about the Outside World is that.. it's not entirely what Armin and Eren thought it would be.

"Alright line up you brats! Line up, line up, line up!" yelled the instructor who was holding the whip.

A group of kids of different ages were lining up according to their number. Their number is the head count of when they were admitted to this hellhole. Ah no wait.. this is a training ground. Yes, a training ground.

Every child after reaching the age of seven are required to participate training even just hours. But as they age, they are required to offer their services and are already considered soldiers and these soldiers are called... Warriors.

I'm one of the instructors that trains these little ones to hone their skills. If there's nothing honed, they are considered sacrifices or offerings to the Great One. But it's all just a big puff of lies to tell the parents so they won't make a fuzz about their children dying or disappearing.

We were making our rounds on the villages, scouting and looking for more kids to train since most of them are comparable to perishable goods that can easily be replaced. There was no one significant. In fact.. none of them can make the cut and be chosen by our leaders.

"Are you sure we should find more kids? We're running out of assets if we keep harvesting raw material." complained one of my fellow instructor and scout.

"True. Maybe we should move to a farther village, expand our boundaries and search for anything interesting." suggested one of my companions.

"Or we can just have fun for once! Grab a drink, get a girl!"

"I don't think it's a good idea." I told them. It's not that we'd get punished.. but it's more because if we don't do anything right now, everything that our ancestors have cooked up by creating that big wall around the Inside World. The Inside World is where Trost is located. It's our little world that we play with. And it's been quite a while since we cooked up something for them.

"A little fun once in a while won't be that bad."

But my comrade has a point.

* * *

"One more time!" yelled the man training his daughter for a fight.

The little girl kicked the wood repeatedly but still it wouldn't break. Not even a crack. The only thing cracking is the little girl's feet. It's swelling and bleeding now but the girl continued to kick until her father told her to stop.

"That's enough for now."

A sigh of relief was heard from the little one when she stopped. She fell on her knees, panting before sitting down to have a peek at the condition of her feet and legs. She wanted to cry. It was painful. It was hurting more and more now that she's stopped.

"Okay, let me see that." the man knelt beside his daughter to have a check. He immediately brought out his medical kit from his slingbag to treat it. "Does it hurt?"

The little girl nodded and tried to keep her tears from falling.

"That's my little girl." he said with pride. "But.. it's okay to cry when it really hurts. Because if you don't, it's gonna pile up and it's gonna get worse." he tells her, his harsh tone from earlier was now replaced by a gentle and friendly tone with a fatherly aura. When he heard his little girl sniff, he smiles at her and ruffles her hair. "There, there. It's normal to cry. Even your old man cries when he needs to."

When he said that, the little girl cried at his chest, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay. I'll be right here while you cry." he said and continued to comfort her. "Just let it all out."

When the little one had stopped crying, she sniffed and sobbed but the tears have stopped. The man smiled at her and wipes her tears from earlier with his thumb.

"Feeling much better now, right?" he asks her and she nods. "Let's skip the training today and let's head to the village, huh? How does that sound?"

"But you never want to take me to the village." she uttered knowing well enough of her father's instructions.

'Because before you were so young that you don't listen at all. The village doesn't like bad kids!" he tried to frighten her but still with a fatherly tone that seems like telling her ghost stories. "Now, you've grown, right? You're now a good little girl?"

The little girl nods at him and he smiled once again.

"Okay then, let's get you patched up so we can go while the sun is up." he says. "Unless you want to stay here instead?"

"No. I want to come! I want to meet other kids!" the little girl said excitedly.

"Hmm.. we'll see if there's other good kids out there, okay?"

"Okay." nodded the child.

"That's my Annie."

* * *

"Ahahahaha! That was amazing! The kid just went flying overboard like some paper!"

"Hey, keep it down, will you?" I told my friend. Seriously, we'll get kicked out if he keeps this up.

"What? It's funny right? How can a kid weigh lesser than a paper?! AHAHAHA!"

"Oh for goodness sake, it's nothing worth to talk about the whole afternoon!" said my female friend. "Ugh, I was looking forward on spending my afternoon with some real fun!"

Same here. But it looks like anytime soon we're about to get kicked out and we'll be force to get back to work and scout again.

* * *

"Hey _Lionhart_ you're here!" exclaimed one of the customers at a bar.

"About time you got here! Serve us!"

"Yeah, serve us!"

The man they call Lionhart, is no other than Annie's father. Annie was right behind her father, hiding behind one of his legs. It's been years since she went back to the village again. Seeing people. It's a new thing to her.

"You got it guys!" says Lionhart and hurried to the bar counter with Annie running after him.

"Oh who's this little one behind you? She's pretty cute ain't she?" said one of the customers who noticed her follow her father jump over the counter.

"That's Annie. My daughter."

One of the drunken men approached the counter where Annie was sitting. "Little Annie eh? You're the one we heard about? It's a pleasure to meet you." his breath reeks of alcohol but Annie said nothing and just looked at her father who smiled at her.

"Annie, he's a friend. Forgive his lack of manners though." he tell his daughter.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Annie smiled at the drunken gentleman and stretched her hand towards him. The man shook her little hand and chuckled.

"The pleasure is all mine, little one!" he teased.

"Don't you guys have kids my age?

Annie assisted her father the whole afternoon until it was already dark. She's never had this much fun in her life until a certain group of people entered the bar where she and her father were. And those group of people is my group.

"Lionhart, quick, they're coming!" warned one of the lookouts. The joy from his eyes faded immediately and turned to his little girl who gave him a confused look.

"Father?"

"Annie." He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the stock room, throwing her inside.

"Father, what-?"

"No matter what happens, DON'T leave this room, you hear me?" the little girl's father strictly instructed her. But Annie could not comply. The fear may have overwhelmed her but the curiosity to know was much dominating. "Annie listen!" he said harshly. "These people are not my friend's. So please. Stay put."

With that he closed the stock room and acted normal.

"Oh look an open bar!" exclaimed one of my friends.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. We're not supposed to drink you know? We should be working." I reminded them.

"Come on! At least one last one before we go!"

"Anything I can get you boys?" offered the bartender. "We have the best wine here."

"Ah we'd love that but you see, we came here to get information on children. We heard that families in this side are hiding their kids someplace. Any of you know anything about it?" a friend of mine asked.

The bartenders exchanged glances for a millisecond. If I wasn't observing them then I wouldn't have noticed it.

"It's just a rumor." answered the bartender with yellow hair. "Some guy got crazy, dragged his kids in the wilderness and never came back."

"Aww. A rumor. I thought that maybe it was true." sighed one of my friends. "Then we'd hit a jackpot of kids!"

"Yeah, nothing but a rumor."

"You're lying." I tell the man. He didn't react or anything that I expect him to express. "Are you?"

"Hey, you can roam around the wilderness if you want to. It's what we know around here." he replies with a shrug. I could feel it in me that he was lying somehow but right now, it seems like my gut is wrong. But if there's one thing I know about fathers.. they do everything for their cause. Just like mine.

"Sorry to bother you guys then." I tell them.

"Hey, everyone's just doing their job right?" he says.

Interesting man.

"Say, what is your name?" my female friend asked.

"Everyone here calls me Lionhart." he replied.

"Lionhart?"

"Gerald Leonhardt. My friends prefers to call me Lionhart." he said and chuckles.

My friends and I exited the bar.. well, pretended to. So in case these guys are lying, we'll catch them red-handed then they can be punished. We can just make up crimes for them but this time around I want to make sure that they go down because we got them pinned to a corner.

"Are you sure about this?" my naughty friend asked.

"Informants told us that this bar is keeping kids. We need to know where they're keeping the kids." I told him.

"Should we attack now?"

"Give them an hour or two. Surely they have lookouts checking if we're gone."

* * *

When they thought the coast was clear, they all sighed in relief and was finally able to relax again. Lionhart quickly went to the storage room to open the door to see his little daughter hugging on her knees and silently crying.

"Hey. I thought you were supposed to be tough?" he teases.

The little girl said nothing but instead gave her father a hug.

"You guys should go home. It's not safe anymore." says one of Lionhart's friends. "We didn't know the scouts reached this region now."

"But it sure is a pleasure to meet young Annie in person. We hope to see you again when you're already a woman." says the earlier drunken customer. "Then I'd gladly offer my son to take your hand in marriage!"

"Huh?" the little one didn't understand the word.

"Hurry, go at the back before-"

 _SLAMS!_

The door slams open and shots were fired. Warning shots. I was able to spot the child they were hiding. She refused to look me in the eyes though so I just smirked instead. This'll be interesting. But looking closer.. there's not really much kids. In fact.. there's only one kid.

"Where's the rest of 'em?"

"There's no one else." replied Lionhart.

"Oh really? No one else? Just her?" I cock my head at his daughter. "You're willing to sacrifice her for every other child's sake?" Lionhart didn't seem to be interested to have a chat with me though. He gave them his deadliest glare. I chuckled and slammed my fist on one of their wooden tables. "Stop messing with me and tell me where the other kids are!"

"..."

"Alright.. you asked for it!"

It didn't take that long for us to massacre each and every friend of his and there I began to see him cower in fear. It was so easy to break him. I thought that it would take longer actually. I kicked him and beat him in front of his daughter. My female friend held on his daughter so she won't interfere.

"Father!"

"Hey pops, you're going to die next if you don't tell me anything!" I warned him. "Well?"

"Please.. please give me time!"

"Hmm?"

"I'll- I'll offer you the greatest soldier you'll ever know!"

"I'm listening."

It must be one of the most disgusting kind of parenting I've ever seen. But who cares? As long as we win.

* * *

 **Houston we have a problem! *sighs***

 **Okay so the story got a little longer than I expected. So I decided to just make a spin-off out of it. I'll call it Humans VS Humans: Little Soldiers. So it will center Annie's childhood until the present that she joined 104th Squad. I'll make up stuff for it and try to base some from the anime I guess. But let's not worry for that now. Just an advanced announcement! My mind is working faster than I thought, now I am ready to plot the chapters for the spin-off. Since I already finished for HVT.**

 **Anyway, next chapter will be back to Eren and the others, they'll be taking a break because after that they'll be entering a whole new arc!**

 **See ya!**


	23. Chapter XXI: A birthday wish

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: January 28, 2017- Saturday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Auright then! Time to continue this! I have no excuses once again so here it is!**

 **Ultimate boredom:** *laughs* Thank you for your reviews! Nah, don't worry about it. I was just worried that you got tired of waiting *nervous chuckle*. And very late happy new year as well! Yeah, *chuckles* the trio's friendship is being shaken. And yeah well.. I guess Armin's been getting a looooot of the spotlight lately. The guy has a potential to be an actor *chuckles*. And yeah, I really did get hooked up. I totally forgot about the rest of the fics. Well then, it's been an awful lot of weeks, I won't keep you here.

 **Let's start!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: A BIRTHDAY WISH**

The Survey continued their investigation regarding the matter about the kid and Eren's missing mother but Hanji gave orders for the 104th squad to stay in Trost on standby. Jean would not approve to just wait but knowing Hanji has a reason for keeping them at base, he decides to behave and patiently wait. Ymir on the other hand saw the opportunity that she could not miss to celebrate a certain someone's birthday. Eren, Armin and Mikasa were on their way to the bakery to get themselves some food. It's not everyday they can roam around the streets and buy stuff.

Upon their arrival at their destination, they saw Ymir trying to negotiate a price with the baker.

"It's Ymir." Eren muttered when he saw her.

"Looks like she's also doing a bit of grocery." Armin says when he noticed that behind Ymir were bags of food and drinks.

"I never knew she eats so much." Eren commented when he saw the grocery bags Armin was talking about.

"Maybe she's buying it for someone." Mikasa says. She doesn't like the idea that Eren seemed 'in awe' to discover a part of Ymir. It makes her jealous of her. ' _I eat a lot too_ ' she wanted to say but being with him for years.. he should know that already.

"Hey Ymir!" Eren called and she turned to see the two boys waving at her. The three approached her then, Mikasa was not so enthusiastic about it though, Ymir noticed the mood but didn't care less about anyone's feelings but Krysta's.

"Need something?" She inquired with her arms crossed.

"We were on our way to buy some bread." Armin explains. They had no intention of asking for a favor or anything. "We just happen to see you here."

"What's all that anyway?" Mikasa points at her bags of groceries. She wanted to sound friendly but obviously she's not in the friendly mood.

"Preparation." Ymir replied vaguely.

"For what?" Mikasa asked.

"For who?" Eren asked at the same time.

"For Krysta's birthday."

* * *

When the three were informed about the angelic blonde's birthday, they planned to help Ymir with the preparations. Although Mikasa is halfhearted in doing so, she make it a point to do her best since she's jealous of Ymir.. not Krysta. They notified the rest of the squad and everyone agreed immediately to be a part of it. Ymir wasn't expecting it nor does she want them to help.. but she knew better than Krysta would be much happier if they were all part of it. Reiner volunteers to distract Krysta while everyone else do their work to decorate the warehouse and cook the food.

Ymir was against it but she was needed at the warehouse to give them instructions of what to do. It was her plan after all. Meanwhile, Jean was sitting on a chair at the corner. This kind of feeling.. the scenario before him.. reminds him more of his days with Marco. Not a memory he wants to remember at a joyous night but right now he's thinking.. if only Marco was still alive then they'd be talking to each other at the moment.

They can goof around and Marco will probably keep talking about Jean's feelings for Mikasa but all those good old days... are not coming back. Jean knows that better than anyone.

Well.. in Jean's surprise.. Mikasa suddenly sat at the seat beside him and his cheeks flushed red.

 _Did Mikasa... just.. sit beside ME?_

Mikasa noticed his gaze and it was quite disturbing since she can see that he left his mouth agape and his eyes fixated in her face, not to mention, his smile was also disturbing.

"I'm sorry.. was someone sitting here?" Mikasa asked and Jean's eyes blinked to reality.

"A- Ah! No! NO! No one is sitting there!" Jean tried to tell her that it was alright to sit beside HIM. "I just- well- you- I-"

Was Mikasa being too dense about his feelings? No. She is perfectly aware of it. But she wasn't paying any attention to it because of Eren.

"I'm sorry." Mikasa apologizes again and looks away. Jean thought that maybe he offended her and tried to come up with something to convince Mikasa to stay. It was the first time she sat beside him, he can't pass up the opportunity. "I'm sorry if I've been ignoring you.. Jean."

 _D- Did I die while we are doing our preparations?_

The soldier wondered.

"N- No not at all! You haven't been ignoring me, Mikasa!" he assured her with a smile on his face.

"Maybe it's not clear. I'm sorry if I've been ignoring your feelings, Jean." she repeats to clarify to him what she meant. Jean's smile dropped and he stared at Mikasa with mixed emotions about her apologies.

 _Did she apologize because of Eren again? I'm glad that she noticed me.. but if it's only because Eren hurt her again.. I..!_

"Mikasa.. it's not your fault if you.. well.. don't find me anything like Eren." it hurts to say it.. but he wants to be the kind of guy that Mikasa will also notice. That Mikasa will learn to lean on in times like this. "I know I've been comparing myself to him lately and that led me to a pretty tough path. I know that there's something he has that I don't but there's something I have that he doesn't."

Mikasa didn't say a word but she finally decided to turn back to him, seeing his sincere eyes.

"Do you think.. there's a chance that he'd see me the way you do?"

 _Why...? Why after everything he did to you...? WHY DO YOU STILL CHOOSE HIM?_

"...yes." he replied. While his heart was in pain.

"You really think so?"

"I think that Eren really cares for you, Mikasa."

"Then why is he..? No.. never mind. Thank you, Jean." when Mikasa hesitated to speak further, she got up her seat and left. Jean on the other hand balled his fists, wanting to let his steam off somewhere. Not Eren.. he already promised Mikasa and Eren about his new treatment towards Eren..

 _WHY?!_

Then he glanced up at Eren, seeing him with Sasha and Ymir put decorations on the ceiling. Eren was holding the chair Ymir was on while Connie was holding the chair Sasha was on. Their conversation was behind Jean's hearing but he can see that Eren was having a pretty good time.

Connie leaned on the chair where Sasha was standing on and the chair wiggled out of balance, causing Sasha to find something to keep her balance and unfortunately pushes Ymir off the chair, ending up lending on Eren.

 _That darned Eren!_

"WHAT THE HECK SASHA?! DO YOU WANT ME TO KILL YOU?!" Ymir growled at the potato girl who bowed repeatedly towards Ymir to apologize.

"But it was Connie's fault! He wasn't holding the chair properly!" Sasha exclaimed and Connie glared at her.

"Why would you say that?!" Connie shouts at her and kicks the chair Sasha was on. Sasha ends up falling, supposedly on Ymir but Ymir rolled out of the way and Eren was the one who ended up as a landing cushion.

"AAAH! Eren I'm sorry!"

Jean saw it and it filled up his patience meter. He was now in flames, not literally though, and then stomps towards the scene to grab Sasha by the wrist to help her up.

"Jean?" Sasha wondered where he came from.

"Let's go." Jean told her, almost like an order, and pulled her away.

"Hey wait!" despite her resistance, he pulls her away from Eren and the others.

"What's up with him?" Connie asked as he pointed at the two who left. Ymir and Eren were not sure themselves.

"Moreover.. since when did they get along?" Ymir added, with both hands on her hips. It wasn't long ago that Jean and Sasha would throw each other their best insults but now.. it's like it never happened.

* * *

"Hey Jean! Are you alright? We can stop walking away now!" Sasha tried to speak to him. Jean realized what he's done and immediately releases Sasha's wrist. "Finally! I thought you'd never let go and I'd have to bite your hand off!"

 _WHAT THE HECK HAVE I DONE?!_

"I'm sorry!" he lowered his head towards her to apologize. "I- I didn't mean to-!"

"Seriously! What's wrong with you?! You acted as if you were my brother or something!"

 _"_ I don't know what got into me.. it's just.. when I saw Eren caught you.. I was.."

"Jealous? You were jealous?" the brunette tried to guess and Jean hesitantly nodded his head. "EH? Why were you jealous? I think I kinda hit his groin on my landing."

"It's not that! I mean.. while you were with him.. it's like.." _what am I saying? I like Mikasa don't I? Or is it because Mikasa gave me the green light earlier to love someone else?_

"Look, if it's about that kiss and the food you owe me, I promise not to tell anyone." Either Sasha misunderstood or she pretends not to know the truth but Jean is thankful either way. "I wouldn't want to tell them my first kiss is with you, idiot."

"Who are you calling idiot, dumbass?!"

"Oi what are you two doing?! If you're done kissing each other's asses, get back to work! Krysta could be here any minute!" Ymir scolds them and Jean turned to Sasha who smiled at him.

 _Did she... ended our awkward conversation? For me?_

* * *

 _I wish.. Annie were here... I wish that not everyone treats her like a traitor.._ the blonde boy thought while he was preparing the food.

Bertholdt sat beside him.

"Did you.. somehow.. persuaded Annie to surrender?" Bertholdt asked with a serious tone. Armin can sense that his aura has changed and he's been hostile towards Armin ever since Annie's capture.

"What do you mean? Annie surrendered on her own will." Armin replied, lowering his voice. He didn't want anyone to overhear what they were talking about.

"That night.. before the capture.. you were with her, are you not?"

Armin's eyes widened. How did Bertholdt know about it? He could've sworn it was just the two of them that night.. was he there.. watching? Watching the two of them that night? He's been suspicious of Bertholdt ever since but this is beyond just any suspicion.

"Y- Yes, I was. But that has nothing to do with it." Armin's tone changed as well, his eyes now locked on Bertholdt's eyes. "Do you perhaps.. know about her secret and did not tell anyone because you like her?"

But Bertholdt dodged out of the question. "Did you rat her out to the Survey because you knew she liked you?"

"Bertholdt.."

"Armin.. I never knew that your loyalty for the Survey Corps will lead you to hurt someone's fragile heart.. to betray someone who trusted in you.. to use someone who has feelings for you." Bertholdt was provoking Armin for something.. Armin knew that.. but he couldn't help himself.

The blonde boy grabbed Bertholdt's shirt, with an angry face he yelled, "I DID NOT BETRAY ANYONE!"

Everyone's eyes turned to them and suddenly it was awkward. The silence... was awkward.

 _Crap! What do I do now?_ Armin thought.

But then there's a flying pie going towards Armin and Bertholdt's face, hitting them and later a loud echoing laughter from the back filled the room. "You two should cool off a bit!" Sasha says and beside her was Mikasa who also threw one of the pies.

The 104th squad members turned to each other.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

With that signal, they started throwing food at each other.

"Wait a minute! Krysta's not here yet!" Ymir tried to remind them but they were too caught up with playing now. Eren just laughed behind her.

"I'm sure Krysta would really be _surprised_ to see all this." Eren tells her to strip away the stress.

"Ha-ha, Jaeger." Ymir faced him with her hand behind her back.

"You should lighten up a bit." Eren tells her and was surprised to find Ymir squashing pie on his face.

"You're right.. maybe I should." she teased. But not a second later, pie was also thrown in her face and someone kicks her away.

"Mikasa?"

"Eren.. sorry if I-"

"Good job!" Eren gave her a thumb's up. "I knew if it were you, you can land a pie on her!"

 _I must.. start talking.. or I'll regret it._ Mikasa thought.

"Eren.. do you like Ymir?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Ymir is just a friend."

"But you're always with her!"

"Well that's because.. somehow, I can feel like there's a connection between us. When I get carried away, I don't notice it but I can feel like I'm at ease with her but when I try to sense that connection on my own, I can't find it. With all that observations I've been doing, I didn't notice I've been hanging out with her a lot." Eren explained. "I mean, I can't possibly like her if I already like someone else."

 _Of course.. I was a fool for thinking otherwise._

"Eren."

"Yeah?"

Mikasa then grabbed some cream from the ground and splashes it on Eren's head. "You're it." she says and ran.

"You will pay for that!"

While they were having fun.. Reiner and Krysta got back and was surprised to see what had happened.

"What happened guys?" Reiner asked. Then someone with the courage threw a pie on Krysta.. not on Reiner's watch. Reiner hurriedly used his own body as shield so Krysta will be safe.

"Reiner!"

"It's alright, Krysta. As long as your safe." Reiner tells her, acting cool. Ymir growled and grabbed as many food as she can and threw it all at Reiner.

"A- Are you sure you're alright?"

"Y- Yes." Reiner kept his barrier up and stuck a tongue out at Ymir. Losing her cool, Ymir tacked Ymir in front of Krysta to force him to eat some bread.

"Everyone.." when Krysta started to speak, everyone paused, "..this is the best birthday. Ever." she says and smiled at them. Everyone were in awe as they find her glowing more brightly than before.

"Such a goddess." Mina commented. And everyone continued to do what they were doing.

Krysta cupped as many cream as she can and puts it over Ymir's head and Ymir froze while Reiner laughed at her.

"Thank you, Ymir." Krysta tells her with a smile on her face. That smile that makes her more and more angelic.

"N- No problem." Ymir blushes and Reiner took the opportunity to knock her over.

* * *

At the end of the day, Krysta's cake never made it. And Levi and the others arrived to see the mess, making them clean it all up. When Ymir and Krysta were back in their room, Ymir was fast asleep of exhaustion (especially after tackling with Reiner), Krysta was still smiling as she got off her bed to stay at Ymir's.

"This is the best birthday I've had in years." she says even if she knew Ymir was already sleeping. "I wish that next year.. everyone will still be here to celebrate it again."


	24. Chapter XXII: A Break

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: January 30, 2017- Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **And now we're back to the seriousness of the fic! Hmm, probably predictable but it's all I've got. I hope you guys bear with here, *chuckles*. Anyways, no more delays, let's start!**

 **WARNING! EVERYTHING ABOUT THE KID AND HIS BIG BROTHER IS JUST MY OWN CREATION! NOT RELATED TO MANGA OR ANIME! IT'S NOT CANON UNLESS COINCIDENTALLY IT IS SIMILAR TO WHAT ISAYAMA-SAMA HAVE IN MIND, WHICH I HIGHLY DOUBT! BEWARE! BEWARE!**

 **Let's start!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: A BREAK  
** "Ymir!"

"..."

"Ymir!"

"..."

"Ymir, are you there?!" Sasha yells. Ymir wasn't startled but she got back to reality from her trance and stared at Sasha for a moment. Trying to analyze the situation and remembering that she was sparring with the potato girl. "Hey, are you okay? I've been hitting you but you're not reacting."

Ymir was breathing rather heavily after waking up from her trance but she expertly hid it from the brunette. "I- I'm sorry. I'm not feeling well. You should spar with someone else today." she says and walked out of the training field. Leaving Sasha to watch her go away.

* * *

At the warehouse where everyone eats, Sasha entered with a pout on her face. She sat beside an extra seat beside Armin.

"Hey Sasha. You're late for lunch today. Is the world ending already?" Mikasa greeted but despite the joke she's trying to come up with, her monotonous voice ruins the joke. Mikasa is sitting beside Eren and the two are facing Armin and Sasha.

"Yeah, I'm so hungry already!" Sasha exclaimed as she took the bread from Armin's and Eren's plate but Mikasa swats her hand before she can snatch away Eren's. "I'm hungry!"

"It's okay Mikasa, she can have my share this time." Eren says with a smile on his face. He handed it to Sasha who gladly took it without biting his hand off. "Wait, I thought you were going to spar with Ymir this afternoon?"

"We did but for the past twenty minutes or so she just stared in space." Sasha muttered. "It's like she's not taking me seriously."

"Maybe there's just a lot on her mind." Armin tried to guess. "I mean, after Krysta's birthday two days ago, we've been doing tasks here and there."

"Maybe you're right." the potato girl agreed.

Then suddenly a soldier entered the premises, the door opened with a loud bang. "Jaeger! Commander Erwin wants to speak with you!" the soldier announced. Eren turned to his friends and they gave him a nod. They can only guess that another mission is about to begin. Perhaps they finally can move forward with new discoveries by the Survey.

When he arrived at the office, Erwin and the others were waiting for him.

"Do we have news about my mother yet?" Eren asked as soon as he entered.

"Unfortunately, not a thing. But we _did_ find news about the kid's so-called 'big brother'." Levi answered. Eren's eyes widened. They discovered more about the kid's big brother? But then.. Armin should also be listening, he thought. "It turns out the kid is an orphan taken by some soldiers and are being trained to do their bidding. His "big brother"is the supervisor that handles his training."

"W- Where did you get all these information?" Eren wondered.

"We found a survivor. Hanji came him a good torture but that's all he know."

"Why are you telling _me_ this? Why not everyone else?"

"Because the tiny bit of information that we got a hold off is about something they want. The Coordinate."

"Coordinate?"

( _If you guys are familiar with this term, please don't hope much! I only used it so everyone will be familiar with it. But my explanation regarding it will NOT BE THE SAME AS THE MANGA. I'm gonna make up my own. Okay? BEWARE!)_

It was confusing for Eren and everyone else to understand.. what does the Coordinate have anything to do with him? Or anything else? But first and foremost.. what is the Coordinate? Levi and the others saw the confusion in his eyes.

"According to our prisoner.. the Coordinate is some kind of power. A power that belongs to titan shifters. As far as we know, the only titan shifters we have is you and the Female Titan who is still stuck in her sleep." Levi explains. "Does anything ring a bell? Did your parents mention it in the past? Or maybe you overheard anything?"

"N- Nothing of the sort." sadly, Eren doesn't know of it. At all. "But maybe if we tell Armin about it, he will-"

"Armin Arlert will _not_ be hearing about any of this." Erwin said sternly and it shocked the young soldier.

"Why? Armin's helped us in a lot of things already!"

"The fact that Armin revealed to us the true identity of the Female Titan is a big help for humanity, I know. But if you hadn't noticed, Eren, he is still keeping something." Erwin explained but this only enraged Eren more.

"HOW CAN YOU DOUBT ON HIM WHEN HE RISKED HIS LIFE FOR HUMANITY AND EVEN GAVE UP ANNIE'S IDENTITY FOR YOU!"

"Tell me Eren," Erwin said calmly, intertwining his fingers together and leaning back on his seat, "how long have you know Ms. Leonhardt?"

"What's THAT got to do with anything?!" he yelled.

"She was also in Shiganshina years ago, was she not?" he asked Eren for confirmation. He was still calm despite Eren's furious aura. When Eren didn't answer, Erwin took it as a 'yes'. "As far as your history with the Female Titan is concerned, do you think that Armin can give away someone's identity just like that? Or perhaps.. it's part of a plan? An ulterior motive behind?"

Eren paused.

 _Come to think of it.. Armin.. Armin never talked to me about it. About why he could give up Annie like that even if for a long time, I know he liked her._

Thinking about it now, Erwin knew he got Eren's attention. Full attention that is.

"You're also not aware, are you?" he asked yet he already knew the answer. "For now we are keeping this secret, not because we are questioning Armin Arlert's loyalty.. but because we are trying to figure out his motive behind his actions. You're curious as well, aren't you Eren?"

* * *

Ymir was walking back to her room when she saw Reiner and Krysta talking to each other right outside the room. It seemed that Krysta was having a good time with him. All of Ymir's senses was telling her that it was wrong, that Reiner was a threat, a danger for Krysta. Her fists tightened and her eyes glared at the latter but then..

"Ymir? Are you alright?"

"Mikasa?" she said when she realized it was Mikasa who saw her.

"I'm sorry I was rude to you for the past few days." it's not usual for the strong girl to apologize to her so Ymir knew Mikasa came to talk. "I misunderstood your relationship with Eren."

"No worries, I didn't care less." she replied, finally calmed down now.

"I wanted to talk to you about Krysta."

Just hearing Mikasa mention Krysta's name, Ymir's attention was caught. "What about Krysta?" she asked, her friendly tone changing to an unfriendly one.

"The way you treat her.. it's similar to how I treat Eren. I was being overprotective of him that I didn't realize he feels like I'm choking him. I was making it hard for him to move and do things on his own because I was trying to keep everyone away from him so I can keep him from danger. But I realized that the more I was doing that, the easier he can predict me. And with that he's going to grow this longing feeling to find people he can spend his time with. Someone he feels that can understand him."

Ymir knew who Mikasa was talking about. "You mean Krysta, huh?"

"The reason he wanted to converse with Krysta was because somehow he wants to find that connection his been looking for. When you keep interfering, his attention turned to you and was completely distracted."

"Tsk, so you're telling me to back off and let them hang out?" Ymir wanted to know the reason behind Mikasa's lecture. Surely the girl barely speaks but ever since she saw Mikasa give Jean a good lecturing back at their first trip outside the walls, she knew it always meant something.

"I'm telling you to let _her_ stand up on her own. One way or another, relying on you will not be an option for her anymore. She's going to begin to think 'I'm gonna show Ymir that I can do this', 'I'm going to show everyone I'm not a princess'.. and that will lead her to do more reckless things."

When Mikasa laid it out for her, Ymir finally understood and knew that Mikasa was right.

Tightening her fists, gritting on her teeth in disapproval of the lecture, she knew she had to do as Mikasa says. For Krysta's sake.

Mikasa noticed that Ymir finally ignored the fact that Reiner is currently with Krysta. Her job was done and it was time for her to go. She was about to walk away but it was Ymir's turn to speak.

"Hold it right there." she says. "Why.. all of the sudden you choose to do this?"

"Eren is fond of you as of the moment. He treats you as a friend he wants to spend his time to. If you begin to sulk because Krysta begins to rebel against you, then that will make Eren worry." Mikasa replied simply with her back turned on Ymir because she doesn't want Ymir to see her that way. "And I... I don't want to see Eren worried. I want to see him happy. So even if that happiness is with you.. I will do anything to keep that happiness."

While Mikasa walked away, Ymir thought that she'd say something too.

"Just so you know Eren was happy talking about you." Ymir says. "He asked for my help to prepare a surprise for you too. So don't compare yourself to me because you're special to him."

"..."

Mikasa made her way to the hallway and disappeared into her room, leaving Ymir in a though position.

"Who asked for you to do this for him? ... Idiot." she muttered.

* * *

Meanwhile Armin asked for the Survey to allow him for a quick visit to Annie, just as he promised he'd do after the trip to Shiganshina. He was allowed to stay for five minutes only without the guards. The guards will be waiting outside.

Armin sighed as soon as the door closes.

"I'm sorry I'm late." he says. "I came here to ask you something. About the day you surrendered. Why did you surrender?" he asked even if he knew there won't be an answer. "Why did you surrender that day?! I know that you knew I was setting you up yet you stilll came with us! Why?! Because you're a good guy?" he answered himself. "Even so, why do you have to do kill so many if you're one of the good guys?! Why do you have to do all these things if you were a victim as well?!"

He slams both fists on the crystal in anger.

"WHY?!"

* * *

Jean just got out of Sasha's room to apologize again regarding what he did to her before and offered a share of his meal again. It's been a part of his daily cycle to do it since he was at fault. He decided to give Mikasa a visit in her room and was about to knock but he finds the door half-opened the the girl he loves was crying.

"Mikasa?"

The sobs were quieter than Annie's. And it was the first time that Jean's seen Mikasa literally cry tears.

 _Did Eren hurt her again?_

When Mikasa did not answer, he turned his back on her to give Eren a good beating but Mikasa already predicted that and called on Jean. "Jean. Don't."

 _Huh?_

Jean turned back to Mikasa with a questioning look. "But Eren-"

"-has nothing to do with this." she wiped her tears and fully opened the door to welcome him in her room.

"Then why are you..? Crying?" he asked. She walked back to her bed to sit.

"I'm hurting but at the same time, I'm happy." she replies with a smile on her face. Jean didn't quite get it but it's the first time Mikasa opened up to him too. "I've been envious of someone because I thought Eren liked her. If I were the old Mikasa, I would've kept silent and let these feelings eat me alive or probably give her the cold shoulder but I took action against the Mikasa Eren knew. And because of that I discovered Eren... Eren.."

 _She's really head over heels for Eren, huh?_

Jean didn't encourage her to continue speaking if she couldn't. "Then why are you hurting if you discovered something good?"

"Because I've been hurting myself over my own obsession of Eren. All along I've been thinking a lot of things about others, comparing myself to others while Eren acted so carefree not knowing how i feel. But then in the end.. it was just me, hurting myself over trivial things." she says as she looked Jean in the eyes. "Isn't that how you also feel, Jean?"

As much as he doesn't want to admit it.. "Yes. That's exactly how I feel." he admitted.

When he admitted it, he felt as if something heavy was lifted from him. He felt lighter.

"Thinking about it, your strong feelings for Eren has changed you, Mikasa." he commented and tried to hide his blush. "In a way that your iron wall falls and your frozen feelings begin to melt and reveals the inner you."

"Thank you, Jean." Mikasa says softly and allowed herself to be engulfed by Jean's arms. It was the first time he was able to hug Mikasa as well.

"No problem.. Mikasa."

 _It felt like it was a dream. That I was stuck in a dream that I don't want to wake up from. But after all this talk.. who am I kidding? Mikasa will never see me as someone she can love but someone she can lean on. I will be that person for her._

 _Her love for Eren had opened this side of her. She chose to change for him and I guess I should begin to change as well. Maybe at most times I won't get along with that that jerk but if Mikasa can do it.. then it's not impossible for me._

* * *

"That night when you were crying, is it because you don't want to kill us?! To kill anyone?!" Armin continued to ask pointless questions. "Because you know I believe in you! Until now I believe that you are a victim! I vowed to myself to prove to everyone you're not a traitor of humanity! That you're not a bad person!.. but how can you expect me to do that if you won't let me defend you! If you won't tell me anything!" Armin cried.

As he slams his fists again, the crystal began to crack and Armin was surprised to see it crack.

 _I- Is it possible?_

He took a step back as he watched the crack began to spread until the crystal was open in half and Annie hopped out of it and quickly grabs Armin's jacket, pulling him towards her and kicking the soldier behind Armin. The soldier that was about to stab Armin.

 _Annie?_

Annie's eyes were empty. Her usual emotionless self. But after throwing Armin off the soldier's reach, her eyes began to show signs and intent to kill, she snatched the soldier's sword to prevent him from attacking them but the soldier had it first and immediately killed himself before anything else.

"Annie.. you.." Armin wasn't sure what to say. _Did she hear everything I said just now?_

After watching the soldier killed himself, Annie turned to Armin, back to her emotionless self. The intent to kill was gone. No words left her mouth as soldiers entered the cage and grabbed hold of her.

"ANNIE!" Armin was surprised to see the Survey and Levi that seemed ready for this.

"Good job trying to call out that wench out of her cocoon." Levi says as the soldiers finally succeeded in pinning Annie to the ground.

"You-"

"We know after you discovered of Annie's identity that she will be treated an enemy of humanity.. that's why in order to salvage what you can of the aftermath, you planned to expose her identity yourself to gain our trust and receive full coverage of what we know about her and how her fate will turn out to be so you continue with your plan to uncover her secrets and find an angle that says she's innocent."

Armin's knees trembled when Levi spilled his plan. They knew.

"Armin.. are you willing to go this far for this traitor or will you prove to humanity that you're still on their side?" Levi asked, handing over a knife to Armin.

The blonde boy alternate stares at the knife and Annie before looking back at Levi whose intense eyes were giving him extra pressure on his decision.

 _W- What do I do now? If I do this.. everyone will think I'm a traitor to humanity as well.. Eren and the others.. they'll think I've betrayed them.. but at the same time.. Annie.. Annie will hate me!_

While thinking about it, Armin remembered his short conversation with Bertholdt on Krysta's birthday,

 _Flashback_ ( _Reference on chapter 21_ ):

 _"Armin.. I never knew that your loyalty for the Survey Corps will lead you to hurt someone's fragile heart.. to betray someone who trusted in you.. to use someone who has feelings for you." Bertholdt was provoking Armin for something._

 _End_

Bertholdt knew about Annie. He's a main suspect for being someone related to the case they are trying to solve, he's a piece they need to complete the puzzle. But other than that Bertholdt...

"I've.. I've always been on humanity's side." Armin says. "Everything that I've done until now is for the sake of saving someone who is in the verge of succumbing to lose her humanity."

"You brat-!"

"YOU SAY SHE'S A TRAITOR! YOU SAY, SHE'S AN ENEMY OF HUMANITY! BUT UNTIL NOW, WHAT DID YOU CONSIDER EREN AS?! DIDN'T YOU ALSO SAY HE WAS A TRAITOR BEFORE JUST BECAUSE HE'S A TITAN SHIFTER?! YOU JUDGED HIM TOO QUICKLY JUST BECAUSE HE CAN BECOME A TITAN! e didn't know what he was before.. he didn't even know how to think of himself and isolated himself from us. Then what is he now? ISN'T HE A GREAT ASSET OF HUMANITY?! DIDN'T HE HELP ACHIEVE MORE THAN YOU COULD BEFORE?!"

With Armin's courage building up, Levi took a step back. It was unusual for him to do that but suddenly the blonde boy's courage to speak fired up something within himself. Levi has never seen anything like that.

"Annie is no different.. we do not know everything about her, all we know is that she's the Female Titan who killed countless number of soldiers, that aside, DOM'T YOU THINK SHE'S A VICTIM OF THIS JUST AS EREN IS?! IF WE TREAT HER LIKE AN ENEMY, AN ENEMY SHE WILL BECOME! CAPTAIN! THERE'S A SIDE OF HER THAT I'M TRYING TO REACH! THAT LITTLE HINT OF HUMANITY INSIDE OF HER THAT WASN'T TAKEN FROM HER YET! I WANT TO SAVE HER! AND IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO DO THAT!"

" **Arlert!** " Erwin shouts and Armin stopped his ranting.

"C- Commander?"

"I understand your resolve to save this girl.. but don't you think there's also this possibility that her humanity has long ago left her?" Erwin says and Armin glanced at Annie, seeing that she was watching them, listening to them, regardless that she was being pinned down on the ground. "What do you still have to say for this?"


	25. Chapter XXIII: Truth that can't come out

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: January 31, 2017- Tuesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **So we got some drama and lots more of that until here. After this is the Legion Arc okay? For now, bear with me! *chuckles* I may have prepared some of these for further character development and stuff, auright?**

 **BEWARE OF EXTREME DRAMA AND VIOLENCE! I REPEAT! WARNING! BEWARE OF THE EXTREME DRAMA AND VIOLENCE!**

 **I shouldn't note this but you guys already know that. Still.. anything that you say is odd or out of the canon-verse, please don't say it! I know! This fic is now being independent because anime season 1 ended already! And until I watch season 2 I guess I'll be making up stuff! Alright? Alright? Good! Let's start!**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: THE TRUTH THAT CAN'T COME OUT  
** "I understand your resolve to save this girl.. but don't you think there's also this possibility that her humanity has long ago left her?" Erwin says and Armin glanced at Annie, seeing that she was watching them, listening to them, regardless that she was being pinned down on the ground. "What do you still have to say for this?"

 _Annie.. I don't know what's on your mind right now but I trust you. Hear out what's in MY heart._

"If her humanity left her already, then she wouldn't let me live in the first place.. she wouldn't have agreed to come with me when I was baiting her to go to the tunnel, she wouldn't have listened to me when I told her to stop hitting Eren back then, she wouldn't have stopped at the walls when she already has the chance to escape AND SHE WOULDN'T HAVE SAVED ME FROM BEING KILLED!"

With that, Levi and the others remembered seeing a dead Survey guard inside the cell.

"She killed him?" Erwin asked.

"He killed himself." Armin replied. Erwin didn't react or anything.

"She risked endangering herself to save you, is that a sign that she haven't left her humanity yet? Perhaps. But it doesn't prove where her loyalty lies." Erwin said and turned to Annie, drawing out his sword and plunging it on the ground beside Annie's face as he crouched beside her. "Tell me, where do the titans come from?" all the answer that he got was a glare.

 _Annie.. why aren't you saying anything? You're giving yourself a death sentence!_

"You seem to have misunderstand your situation, Ms. Leonhardt. You're a prisoner here. No one knows you're here but us. No one will hear of this conversation but us." he says, trying to persuade the small blonde to speak. "Every soldier in this room, excluding Arlert, treats you as an enemy. And unless you tell us something useful.. you. Will. Die."

It was no point to sugarcoat his words. He went straight to the point but still, the small blonde didn't falter nor did she tremble in fear. Her eyes remained locked on his gaze, not a hint of fear, remorse or anxiety.

Erwin sighed as he got back on his feet and turning back to Armin.

"A soldier with this response is no doubt loyal to who she works for." Erwin tells the blonde boy. "I believe she didn't abandon the side of her that you see, Armin. But it's her loyalty to those who sent her here is what's making her an enemy."

When Armin was informed about it, he was confused at Annie's response.

 _Isn't she afraid to die? What does she truly feel? Which Annie is the real one?_ He's seen sides of her but he couldn't tell which one is the mask and which one is the real one. _Is it the Annie with the murderous intent? The Annie that has no feelings? Or the Annie that has feelings?_

Right now, he couldn't understand. What was it that is pushing the small blonde to go _this_ far for the people she works for? Do they perhaps hold someone dear to her a hostage? She's forced to do this? Is she driven under fear? Which one.. is it?

"Armin!" Erwin was getting impatient from Armin's lack of response to the case. "I think you see now who you're trying to save."

"Commander.. please.." even so.. Armin wouldn't give up as he clenched his fists and looked Erwin in the eyes. "..please give me a chance to talk to her. Please!" he begged as he lowered his head to plead.

Levi rolled his eyes at Armin's persistence but Erwin acknowledged it.

"If your way works, then we will give Annie a chance. If not, then we will do everything we can to squeeze information out of her. You understand?" Erwin says and Armin nodded. "You have the whole night to do that."

* * *

The moment Erwin and everyone else left the room, Armin hurried to Annie's side and helped her sit up.

"Why Annie? How could you choose to live like this? I'm already helping you!"

"I trust you Armin.. that's why what I know stays with me." she replied.

"But that doesn't even make sense! If you trust me then why won't you tell me anything?! Would you rather that they torture you?!" he chided her. He was worried because of her stubbornness, she will be hurt. "Because I don't want that!"

"Even if you fail to persuade me to speak, you won't be punished if that's what you're afraid of." the small blonde replied simply. But..

 _You got it wrong, idiot!_

"WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO FOOL?!" he yelled in anger. "I.. I did everything in my power to reach out to you so I can save you.. I didn't even expect to be given an ultimatum to choose between humanity and you.. and still you act as if all I'm after is the information you have!"

"Isn't that what you're trying to do?!"

"YOU TRUST ME DON'T YOU?! THEN WHY DO YOU THINK THAT WAY?!"

 _Please Annie.. LET ME help you..._

Annie's fingers balled to a fist, tighter.. tighter.. until blood dripped from her palms. "No matter how hard I tell myself you're not like everyone else.. I'm too scared to take a step forward and trust you."

"You can start trusting me now." Armin says and placed his hands on Annie's hands to ease the anger inside her. Whatever was causing it. "No matter what, I will be on your side. Before and after you prove your innocence.. you can count on me, not to betray you! I promise!"

With those words he let go, the small blonde smiled shortly.

"Thank you. I guess I've decided what to do now."

 _What a relief._

With a smile now forming in the blonde boy's face, he later finds himself leaning closer to Annie, pressing his lips to hers. It was merely an ephemeral kiss since Armin realized what he's done and quickly retracted from the kiss.

"E- Erm, forgive me! I didn't know what came to me!"

But he didn't receive a slap or a kick. The girl was caught in surprise that all she did was touch her lips where she had physical contact with the boy. Blushing deeply because of it. Armin guessed that it was probably her first kiss and he stole it!

"AH! I'm really sorry!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Ymir just got back from making up with her missed spar with Sasha and was tired from the day. She entered her room and found Krysta already asleep while smiling. She smiled, knowing it's the first time Krysta smiled while sleeping. She was about to tire for the day but she can sense someone's presence inside the room.

Being attacked from behind, she was blindfolded and warned not to move or Krysta gets hurt. Ymir quickly assessed that there's two of them in the room.

"What do you want?" she asked, lessening the volume of her voice.

"Marcel. Does his name ring a bell?" the man pinning her on the ground asked. He had his knee pushing her back to the floor. "Answer!" he kept his voice also at a low volume.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I've never even heard of his name before!"

"But you killed him!"

"I didn't kill anyone!" The more she denied, the harder the man's knee pressed on her back. "Look, you must've mistaken me for someone." she tried a different angle to converse with the trespassers, After all, Krysta's life is at stake.

"It's you. I'm certain." the man said. "But are you really not sure?"

"I really don't remember killing anyone. So yes, I'm sure." when he still didn't let go, she probably should apologize for it. "If I killed someone in my sleep, I'm sorry. Okay?"

The weight has lifted and footsteps have gone. She quickly removed the blindfold in her eyes to see who they were but they were already gone. Her only clue was the guy's strength.

* * *

"Hey Bert, you okay?" Reiner asked as he entered their room. Bertholdt was sitting in his bed, deeply thinking about something.

"I'm worried about Annie." his friend says.

"Don't worry about her! No one can break through that tough shell of hers! She can pretty much handle herself better than we could." he tried to cheer his friend up but he can see that it's not working. He dropped his cheery face and sat beside Bertholdt. "Is it because of Armin?"

"They said Annie already reached the wall when she was escaping. All that's left for her is to run in the woods." Bertholdt tells him. "But.. at the very last second she just stopped moving and stared back at the city. Or maybe she was looking at _him_. And surrendered."

"Hey we don't know that for sure. Annie wouldn't give everything up because of him."

"But she cried in his arms!" Bertholdt exclaims with extreme jealousy. "She's never shown that side to us, did she?!"

"N- No."

"Then why?! Why to HIM?!"

Reiner can tell that he was indeed jealous. He wasn't sure what to say except that.. "Bert.. if it's gonna help make you feel better, I'll try to contact someone to find out how she's holding up in prison, okay? And you're going to be darned surprise to find out that she's still sleeping in that crystal of hers!"

"Y- You're probably right."

"Now get a goodnight's sleep."

"Thank you Reiner."

Like a big brother, Reiner made sure he tucked Bertholdt to sleep before looking up at the sky, thinking about their childhood friend.. _Annie.. just what are you thinking? Even us, your childhood friends, don't know you anymore. Is it really because of Armin?_

* * *

The following day, Armin wakes up and found himself sleeping alone in the cell where Annie once was.

 _Huh? Where's Annie?_

He turned to the door left open ran outside, seeing guards walking around.

"Excuse me!" he ran after them. "Where did they take the prisoner here in this cell?" he asked. The two guards exchanged looks before replying.

"The torture chambers."

 _Tor.. ture.. cham.. bers?_

 _WHY? Didn't Erwin and I agreed on something last night? Didn't we had a deal? Furthermore... didn't I persuade Annie already? To trust in me? Then why.. why is this still happening?! No way! It can't be!_

 _Is this a dream?_

Trying to calculate what was going on, Hanji happened to pass by and saw him.

"Oh Armin, good morning! Your friends are looking for you, you should eat breakfast with them. They are worried of-" before Hanji could finish, Armin ran towards her and grabbed her by her jacket, his teary eyes fixated on hers.

"HANJI-SAN! Please tell me where Annie is!"

Leading Armin to Annie's location.. Armin was instructed to stay outside of the grilled bars where they can only watch from above while below, the torture chamber, was covered in fresh blood from the small blonde who was being tortured by Levi and Erwin standing inside the chambers, watching the morbid torture.

Armin was in complete shock that he couldn't cope up with what was happening. Hanji saw it almost immediately.

"Commander Erwin came to visit a few hours ago to know the result of your persuasion. But upon entering, he saw Annie standing by the door, both hands behind her back, returning commander's intense glare."

 _Flashback:_

 _"Ms. Leonhardt.. I see you had a good night with Arlert." Erwin said when he eyed Armin who was asleep behind Annie._

 _"He fell asleep there, nothing happened." the small blonde said with a shrug._

 _"Have you decided yet?" he asked but she didn't answer. "Let me ask again.. have you. Decided. Yet?"_

 _"I decided to side with you but what I know remains nothing but a mystery." the kind of answer Erwin wanted which later led to the jurisdiction that she was indeed their enemy._

 _End_

"From that morning until now.. she still haven't spoken a single word. Not a hint of what we want to know." Hanji finished her explanation. "I thought for sure you convinced her though."

 _Yeah.. I thought so as well.._

He thought as he closed his eyes so he doesn't have to see anymore of what Annie was going through down at the chambers of torture. Her screams echoed in his head though. At the end of the day, she really didn't say a single word. Not a plead for mercy nor the answer they seek. Just her screams of pain and anguish.

 _When you said you've decided.. is this it? Do you really choose to be an enemy? Did humanity hurt you this much that you won't help them? Help us? That you'd risk the chance I gave you?_

"That's enough!" Erwin says and Levi stopped.

Annie was panting and was relieved that the whipping had stopped. She had no fingers left since all were already cut down by the captain. Her right arm was already broken while the other one can still move. Barely. She was kneeling down, facing the wall and her back facing Levi, the whip breaking through the piece of cloth she has and blood dripping from her fresh wounds.

Not like it was a problem since she will be regenerating.

Erwin stepped forward and Levi stepped back. Grabbing Annie's bangs to force her to look up, to look him in the eyes. The resolve was still there.

"I have to admit.. these people that sent you here trained you well." he compliments. Or did he? "Which will really change my motive of being here. I can just torture you for fun and not ask you questions since it seems like you're not gonna break anytime soon, are you?"

The small blonde said nothing but her huffs and puffs of breath.

"I see."

The commander threw her to the ground and started to kick her mercilessly. From her aching legs, to her stomach and her head. There was no limitation to where his big foot will reach. Armin couldn't handle it and grabbed Hanji by the jacket again. "HOW DO I GET IN THERE?!"

"A- Armin?"

"PLEASE!"

* * *

After breakfast, or well, Ymir skipped breakfast and gave Sasha her portion, saying that it's her reward for the spar last night but it was an excuse so she can be alone. Eren happened to pass by and see her.

"Hey." he greeted.

"Hey."

"You missed breakfast." He states. "So did Armin."

"Arlert is a big boy, he can handle himself." Ymir tried to hide her problems but Eren saw it earlier already.

"Something troubling you?" he asked but Ymir didn't answer. "You know when I have problems, I tell Mikasa or Armin. Usually one of them helps me out." he shared to her, hoping it helps.

"I don't want to tell Krysta about my problems." Ymir confessed hesitantly.

"Hmm? Why?"

"I just don't." refusing to talk about it, Eren thought it might be a sensitive topic to talk about. _I wonder where Armin is.. he's better at this than I am._

"Okay. How about talking about it with me sounds?" he tried. "Or Mikasa?"

"Okay then. Have you ever felt like you've killed someone but don't remember you did? Like somehow.. it's just a dream but at the same time it isn't?" Ymir asked, her voice was serious. She's not arrogant or cheerful at the moment. She's serious. And Eren doesn't see this side of her that much. Or he doesn't see it at all. She didn't give Eren a chance to answer anyway. "Ah, that's crazy. Never mind."

"Honestly.. I've been asking myself the same thing." Eren confessed.

"What?"

"There are nights that I couldn't sleep because I've been having dreams about my father. I see him but later I don't. There's something in between that I don't remember or see in my dreams. But I know in the end my father dies." Eren says. "Of course the first thing that came to mind was that I killed him but how could I? So I thought.. maybe it's just a silly dream."

"But is it?" Ymir inquired.

Eren sighed. He haven't told anyone about it but.. "Between you and me.. it _did_ feel like it was real. My memories about it is just messed up that it feels like it's a dream." Ymir said nothing while she tries to compare Eren's situation with hers. "Wait, why are you suddenly asking about it? Are you also having the same dreams?"

"N- No." she lied as she got back up. "Well, let's go look for your friend! See what he's up to!" she changed the topic. Eren took the change of subject as a sign that somehow, he helped Ymir.

* * *

Meanwhile Armin finally arrived at the torture chambers and hurried to use his own body as shield so Erwin's kicks and stomps would no longer hurt Annie.

"Arlert?" Erwin wondered where he came from. He turned behind him to see Hanji scratching the back of her head.

"PLEASE STOP!"

"We had a deal, Armin." Erwin reminded him.

"But this is unfair! THIS IS UNFAIR!" Armin was on the verge of tears. He couldn't understand. Why?

"Armin.." Annie calls to him and he freezes.

"Annie?"

"..I chose this." she tells him. But even so, he couldn't accept that.

"WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO TRUST ME!" losing his cool, he didn't care. Annie waited until her fingers have healed and slaps Armin in the face to stop his whining.

"Armin.." she locked her eyes to his and Armin felt as if they were talking to each other telepathically. Armin remembered that a Survey guard tried to kill him and right now the reason Annie wasn't saying anything was because _they'd know_. "..this is the truth that can't come out." she finishes after purposely missing out the middle details. But Armin already understood.

She _does_ trust him but she couldn't risk him dying. They can guard him 24/7 but the fact that a traitor can pretend to be a Survey guard with no one even doubting him, then it's too dangerous. They don't know how many of them are out there. Right now he can only allow the torture to happen. So those people that Annie works for will believe that she is still on their side.

* * *

"Hey Armin where have you been?" Eren greeted as soon as he and Ymir found him walking to the warehouse.

"Oh uh, I lost track of time. I've been reading." he lied but Eren bought his fake smile.

"Well hurry up! Sasha got us a nice meaty meal!"

But Ymir can see through Armin's lie.


	26. Chapter XXIV: Legion

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: April 3, 2017- Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **I almost forgot about this. Since AOT S2 is out, I needed to do this or my plot will be trampled on *laughs*. Once I watch it, my idea and original plot will be overpowered and I'll change it. That's a lot of work for me so I can't let that happen. Sorry guys for being gone this long, I'll update now.**

 **Also, thank you to all those who reviewed! I'll be sure to update faster next time!**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: LEGION  
** It's been a week since the Survey Corps, along with the 104th recruits had left the Walls to continue their search on Grisha and expand the land. Armin didn't visit Annie again but he thinks about her a lot and he thinks a lot on how to find the spies watching Annie. If he can get rid of them, then Annie would speak. Then she'd be on their side. But this thinking has brought Armin to an unstable state to fight and travel.

Eren noticed lately that Armin was lacking sleep and he;s got big bags under his eyes now.

While traveling, he approached his friend, steering his horse to go near Armin's. _Wow, he doesn't look well. I wonder what he's been thinking about lately._ He thought while trying to come up with words to begin their conversation.

"Armin. Hey."

"..."

"You okay?" he went straight to the point. "Armin?"

"Huh?"

"You don't look well. Are you sick?"

"N- No. I'm fine."

"But-"

"I'm fine Eren." Armin repeats, his eyes locked on the road. Eren didn't want to push further. Something was up. Eren could only guess that it relates to Annie. Something must've happened.

Eren looked at everyone else, seeing that they're all not so cheery lately. They're just blindly following Hanji's lead on their travel. Sasha and Connie, being the goofballs of the group, weren't as playful as before either. Jean was being his usual self, Krysta was conversing with Reiner but they didn't look so cheerful either. Ymir was quiet. Bertholdt as usual, was also quiet. But he seems to be glancing at Armin from time to time.

Nothing new. It's been a week. Everyone must be tired.

"Hanji! Look!" yelled Mike.

Hanji and everyone who heard him turned to the direction where he pointed at. There, they saw a legion of Titans walking. Their eyes widened at the number of them. "T- That's... a LOT of Titans walking together..." Hanji mumbled.

It's normal to see them in groups and packs but never once did they see one THIS MANY.

"A- A legion of them?" Eren muttered.

"They're going to the Walls." Hanji says. "We have to stop them."

Armin saw it but he couldn't think well. He began to conclude a hundred different scenarios that relates it to Annie, which will not make sense because he's just being too delusional about it. While his mind was battling his body, Hanji turned to the group.

"Listen up everyone! We're gonna need to lead this army away from the Walls. Or there won't be a generation of humanity to protect." she announced. But she can see how scared everyone looked. "We'll just lead them to follow us to a different direction. Some of them may be Aberrant Titans but we'll take care of it."

"What if we are overrun by them?" Jean asks nervously.

"We'll have to take that chance, soldier. Otherwise, everyone at home is as good as dead. So we need to do everything in our power to stop that from happening. Understand?"

 _Everyone at home_.

The soldiers knew what they will throw their life for. They will protect their loved ones at home. They will protect the people back home. They will protect everyone. When Hanji saw that the expression on their faces had changed somehow, she was relieved.

"Squad 1 and 2, you go to the left..."

While Hanji was preparing the squads, Eren turned to Armin again, worried once again for his friend. Armin wasn't looking well at all.

* * *

The bait was sent to attract the attention of the Titans and lead them to the opposite direction. The rest of the squads were placed to the left and right of the legion, to make sure no Titan strays from the group. But not everything always go according to plan.

The Aberrant Titans within the legion started to run after the bait but some ran in random directions, causing the group to disperse to smaller groups and struggle in panic. It was as if the Titans had planned everything from the start.

"Levi!" Hanji yells when she lost sign of the Captain. It was nothing but the legion that scattered. "What is this?" she asks herself.

Soldiers died everywhere. They were overwhelmed by the number of Titans everywhere. There was no chance. She fixated her eyes on the sight and everything else was inaudible to her. She just focused on the sight. What is it? Is it beautiful? Why is she looking at it?

While she was busy staring, her comrades came and saved her in the nick of time before she gets infected by these rotten corpses.

"Hanji-san!" Eren yells but Hanji was caught in a trance. "Hanji-san?"

Eren looks at Rico who is the other senpai nearby.

"Cadet, you and Eren take Hanji out of here! We're leaving!" Rico orders Ymir and Ymir assisted Eren in pulling Hanji away from the legion.

"We can't just leave the others!" Eren tells Rico but Rico merely returned him a glare.

"It's live or die. Everyone else is on their own now. In a sea of Titans like this... there's no hope of surviving if we look for them. We'll reunite somewhere else." she tells him harshly. Eren didn't like it.

To calm his nerves, Ymir took the liberty of using his flare gun to shoot in the sky to notify the remaining survivors that they are headed out. "Let's go." Ymir tells Eren and together, the four ran to the forest, escaping the swarm of Titans. "You can't take this many Titans even if you turn into a Titan."

Ymir was worried for Jean as well but there was nothing he could do either.

* * *

"Connie watch out!" Sasha screamed and pushed Connie out of the way before the titans could grab a hold of him.

"Sasha!"

Jean was already in a safe spot, away from the Titans. But in his peripheral vision he sees that darned potato girl in need of help, along with the nuthead, Connie. He gritted his teeth, figuring out why he felt the need to come and save them. _They're my comrades! That's all the reason I need!_ He yelled at himself before coming to the rescue.

Jean pulls Sasha up to ride his horse. Connie ran to him as well and rode on his hard.

"Hey!" Jean yells at him.

"Don't tell me you're planning to leave me!" Connie yelled back.

Sasha pushed the two away from each other. It was a good thing that she was in between them. The two glared at each other for a bit then Jean decided to lead everyone to safety. But there was no place to run to. Just the sea of Titans everywhere.

"Sasha, everything's going to be okay." Connie tells Sasha softly.

Jean scrutinized Sasha seeing that she was wounded. She has a scratch on her lower abdomen and it was bleeding. Sasha was just covering it with her hands. He grit his teeth in anger. _If she's wounded this bad then... she's gonna turn to one of them soon._

Oluo whistled to call their attention.

"Over here guys!" He calls and Jean followed his lead.

"Connie, make sure Sasha doesn't fall okay?" Jean instructs and Connie kept an arm around Sasha while the other hand held on Jean's jacket.

"Keep it up with me kids, I'll get us outta here!" Oluo tells them as he led them into the forest to hide.

* * *

"ARMIN!" Bertholdt took his chance to murder the threat from his love life. The two have been rolling back and forth on the ground, their horses already being eaten by the Titans swarming at the side.

Both were bruised by the punches they keep on giving each other.

"BERTHOLDT!"

Armin isn't aware of whatever Bertholdt's secret was. Nor was Bertholdt aware of Armin's secret. but the two knew one thing. THey both care for Annie.

Reiner came just in time to save the two from getting killed. Mike was with him. Reiner pulls Bertholdt to mount his horse while Mike got Armin riding his. The two struggled for a while but there was no time for it.

"Your dispute can wait." Mike tells them. "We need to get out of here."

Armin blinked and looked around his surroundings, seeing the number of soldiers and horses dead and being eaten while he was wasting his own life fighting with Bertholdt. _I- I..._ "What about Eren? Where is he?!"

"I'm sure Eren's alright." Mike said then steered the horse to run away from the titans.

Reiner on the other hand glared at Bertholdt, telling him something.

It was unusual for Bertholdt to start fighting with others. Let alone start the fight. Bertholdt couldn't look at Reiner in the eyes and kept silent in the back as they make their escape from death.

* * *

"Eren! Eren!" Mikasa shouts through the scattered legion of titans. "Eren where are you?!"

"Oi recruit!" Levi yelled when he spotted Mikasa. "Over here!"

"Is Eren there?" Mikasa pulled the leash on her horse to go over to Levi's location. "Did you find him?"

"No. But we're getting out of here." Levi says and glances at Petra who had just saved Krysta from being eaten alive. "We got another survivor."

"But Eren-"

"That brat is with four eyes. I saw them run off the forest together." Levi tells her and they ran to safety.

Mikasa was hesitant to follow him but looking around the surroundings, there was no one else she can save. It was just soldiers screaming everywhere and already-dead soldiers eaten everywhere.

 _Maybe Eren is okay. No, Eren IS alright._

Believing what the captain said, she followed his lead and went to safety.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Walls.

Annie was in an underground room, lying down in bed, looking at the ceiling. There was nothing but dead silence in there, it wasn't dark because there are torches outside. So whenever she hears footsteps or soft whispers and mumbles or see a shadowy figure outside her cell, she'll know that someone is coming.

Erwin arrived. Alone.

"Dinner." Erwin said and opened the cell to slide the tray inside. "Is served."

The small blonde sat up and studied her meal. "It's warm." she says. "Usually I'm given a cold meal. Does this mean it's a warm welcome?" whether she was being sarcastic or not, Erwin closes the door of the cell.

"Compensation. For the unnecessary amount of damage." he says and turned his back on her.

"Did he say something to you again?" Annie asked, still not reaching for the meal given to her.

"Arlert isn't back from the expedition yet. I did this with my own will. But don't make any wrong judgement about this. I have my reasons for doing this." Erwin replied and walks away.


	27. Chapter XXV: Ilse Langer

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: April 5, 2017- Wednesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Ranting: I won't lie when I say I am really, really upset that AOT S2 only gets 12 episodes. Seriously, after all that time I waited and all that time I had to give time into reading the manga to further prepare myself for the anime, I find out that it will have only half the number of episodes of season 1. But since this is me writing fanfiction, I will not rant here *laughs*. Plus it's understandable because of the work production and all that stuff.**

 **So back to the story, I'll be leaving you guys a lot of bits and pieces to solve the puzzle. Because Hanji and everyone else might've found something important that could help them. And no I won't be copying everything that Ilse wrote because heck that's so long! This won't be based on manga or anime so don't expect it to be the same! Maybe there will be some that is the same but don't expect too much!**

 **NOTE: I edited "Marco" from previous chapter to "Ymir" because I forgot he died. So you'll notice that sometimes I'll be saying Ymir is a "he" from previous chapter until this one, too lazy to edit everything.**

 **Ultimate boredom:** Yeah I was mad too. So I decided to hurry up this fic so I can also make a season 2 *laughs- pauses* well you got me. This is only season 1. I'll be making season 2 and everything is already plotted out. As my loyal reviewer, that's a tip of what's to come *smiles*. Ah yes, I was thinking maybe Armin and Bertholdt gets a scene or something. And don't worry about Sasha I won't kill her. Yet *evil laughs* kidding. And about Erwin... well, that guy has his own world. You've got good timing when you checked for an update *laughs*. Because without your review, I wouldn't have updated today. Enjoy!

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE: ILSE LANGER  
** While Hanji and the others were escaping the legion, they find themselves running deeper into the forest, not knowing where to go, not having any direction where they're headed, all they know is they had to run. The legion had scattered all over and there was no place to be in. Some of the titans doesn't run but the Aberrant ones? They're pretty dangerous.

They've been running for hours, without a break.

"Hanji-san. We need to rest." Ymir suggested, although it wasn't them who were tired. "I mean, our horses have been running slow. They're tired."

"Plus if we keep going forward, we might get lost." Rico added. "I don't recognize this place anymore. We've gone too far from the lands that we know." she informs the leader of their small group.

Hanji ignored them for a while. She didn't want to decide out of pressure.

Eren and the others remained silent until finally they heard her sigh. "Alright, let's keep a low profile and do not interact with any titan. Just let them walk around. If it's an Aberrant titan, let it follow us until it's far off the pack. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am!"

* * *

Days later. Staying on the branches on top of trees, they made sure their horses are well-fed and resting below, tied to the tree of course. Hanji and Ymir were gone as the first turn to scavenge any food and look for any survivors, leaving Eren with Rico.

It was an awkward scenario for the young soldier but he thought that he'd start a conversation with a Garrison soldier.

"So uh, how's Hannes doing?" he asked at random. Rico glanced up at him and he panicked. "I mean, if you knew him! He also works at the Garrison so I thought that maybe, I-"

"Don't make too much noise." she tells him and he shuts up. "I don't talk to him but I've seen him once when he made passed a report to the Commander."

"What kind of report?" Eren decided to go with this flow of conversation and scoots closer to her since they are very far from each other.

"About the Female Titan, Annie Leonhardt's, old records from the Guest Hall. He was the only Garrison left that remembers seeing her at the Guest Hall years ago, so he was told to write a report about it."

Eren's eyes were focused on hers. _Hannes too... I need to talk to him about this._ "Is there anything else?" he asked and moves closer to her.

Rico noticed how much he closed the space between them so she pushes him away before fixing her glasses and answering, "I don't know the details. I just happen to have a good glance at his report and heard his conversation to the other Garrisons who led him to the Commander."

The brunette boy nodded and kept his distance. "I guess I'll ask him when I get back."

The other soldier just sighed and continued to stay vigilant for any upcoming titans, looking at her surroundings and waiting for any sign of Hanji and Ymir coming back. It was quiet. The screams have died down, or maybe they've gone too far from the screams?

"Say Rico... why are you with us on this expedition?" Eren inquired. "I mean, I don't question anything but I was just curious since you're a Garrison."

"The Commander told me to come. No, he _ordered_ me to come." Rico said as she remembered. Emphasizing one word in her sentence with a hint of bitterness.

"Commander? You mean Erwin?"

Rico nodded. "He went to Wall Rose and..."

 _Flashback (Rico's memory, not a flashback from past chapters):  
Erwin, along with a couple of Survey Corps arrived at Wall Rose and was greeted by three Team leaders, Rico, Ian and Mitabi. Erwin ignored them and went passed them as he entered the boundaries of Wall Rose. Although he made a short eye contact with the female team leader before leaving._

 _When he got back, they greeted him again as a sign of respect but then he calls on Rico for a private conversation._

 _"I want you to join the upcoming expedition of the Survey Corps."_

 _"I'm sorry Commander but my post is here in Wall Rose. I-"_

 _"You've been relieved of your duties as a Garrison. You're being transferred over to us. As your new leader, you are required to come to the expedition that will happen in a couple of days."_

 _"R- Relieved of my duties? H-"_

 _"Do not question me why because you won't get an answer. But if you survive this expedition, I may answer you."_

 _"I'm sorry sir but I refuse to follow an order without any explanation." she says but Erwin wasn't threatened. He smirked and shot her a deadly glare, one that got Rico tensed and trembling at the moment._

 _"Isn't it childish to see a soldier of your caliber to refuse an order of a different Commander? I don't need to tell you that your actions and decisions will be reported because that will make me immature as well." he says. "So let's be grown ups in settling this meeting, shall we?"_

 _End of Flashback_

"After that I ended up here." she says. Eren was shocked. Was Erwin threatening her back then? Is he a bad person? Why did he do it? If Rico had questions in her mind, so does Eren.

"Did you tell anyone yet? Hanji-san? Heichou?"

"Erwin trusts those two. If I say anything, it's like getting myself trapped in a den of titans." Rico says and quickly closes her mouth when she saw Hanji and Ymir with their 3D Maneuver Gears going back.

"I won't tell them, Rico-san. But someone else has to know about this." Eren whispered.

"I trust your good friend to be the first to know from you." Rico replied before standing up from the branch and greeting Hanji and Ymir back. Eren stayed where he was to make sure that he wasn't acting any different.

 _Commander Erwin... I will unravel your secrets soon._

"Hanji-san, welcome back!" Eren greeted when he finally got his fake smile on. "Any luck?"

"No survivors. No food either." Hanji stated sadly. "But we did find something more interesting!" she says with excitement. "Quick, sit! Sit!" Hanji said and pats the branch beside her.

"Ugh, this better be good." Eren muttered and was supposed to sit beside Rico but she places her hand on the space beside her as if saying it was reserved. Eren took a step back and sat beside Ymir instead. "Girls."

"So what did you find?" Rico asked Hanji.

Hanji sneered at them before taking a small notebook from her jacket. "Ta-dah!"

The two stared at it for a moment. "What is that?" Eren and Rico asked before looking back and forth at Ymir and Hanji, waiting for answers.

"It's a notebook we got from Ilse Langer. She's a Survey Corps from the 34th expedition. The last survivor too!" Hanji said and showed them the pages of Ilse's handwriting.

"That's a terrible handwriting." Eren commented.

"Of course! It seemed like she was on a rush while writing all these." Hanji said and pulls the notebook to herself to give it a hug. "And everything in here is wonderful!"

Eren, Rico and Ymir wasn't sure how to react. Should they celebrate with Hanji? Be happy for her? What?

"So uh, what are the contents of the notebook?" Rico asked.

"Good thing you asked! I shall begin...!" while Hanji was blabbering, Ymir and Eren hits Rico, telling her it's her fault that Hanji will now begin to torture them with her ranting. Rico didn't understood until the ranting began.

* * *

Hanji explains to them the contents of Ilse's notebook.

" _My name is Ilse Langer, I am the only survivor left from the Survey Corps who set out to begin the 34th expedition on expanding our territories. We were ambushed by the titans with their unexpected number. Yes, we were ambushed. When we entered the forest that we called Oak Woods, they appeared from the trees and bushes and we were in chaos. Outnumbered and in panic, we fought for our own sake. I wasn't sure what happened but I got out of there alive. I ran until I was out in the open, it was dangerous but I had no choice, the forest was a death trap. It was like the Titans had brains._

 _The sun was bright and I was running and tired when I saw 'it'._

 _It was the biggest Titan that I've ever seen. What's more is that, it has fur. Titans don't normally have that, excluding the hair but this one has. I stared at it as long as I can to write what I can. I don't think it saw me since it was heading somewhere, the east. I don't know where I am or where that huge Titan is going but I know it's going towards something. Someplace. I also would've been very scared if it wasn't for the little figures sitting in its shoulders. I see something there and I think they are humans. Human children._

 _I followed this Titan to see what I can find. Those human children gave me courage to do so._

 _And when I did, I saw it took these children off its shoulders and placing them down on the river. These children played in the clean rivers, laughing and smiling, they were bundles of joy and I knew I had to do something to save them. But I had to wait until the huge titan leaves, if not, then I'll need to charge in with the best plan I can come up with._

 _After hours of waiting and watching them play. It didn't leave. The huge titan screamed, it has some sort of weird screaming that calls on other smaller titans. They swarmed the children and suddenly the clean rivers were covered in blood, the laughs of joy turned to screams of anguish. I could not bear it but I had to stay to where I am hiding to record everything. For the first time in history, humans may discover something from this. May my soul rest in peace when my time comes because of this selfishness._

 _All of the children were killed. The huge titan expressed joy- it laughed. As if mocking the dead children. Then, it opened its other hand, revealing that it was hiding another batch of children there. There were more. Can my conscience take more killings? I would've said no but then these children started to scream they... they turned into Titans._

 _It was shocking- surprising to the extent that my eyes are fixated on them while my hand is writing what it sees. The children turned to titans battled the other titans- the mindless Titans and they killed each other right in front of the huge Titan. It watched in satisfaction and waited for the victor to step forward. The victor was a small little girl, covered in blood and expressing no remorse, rage, joy or sadness. Just plain blank facial expression as she stepped forward from the blood battle._

 _It was terrible! I couldn't watch any longer but... I had to._

 _The huge Titan clapped its hands, congratulating the little victor. Then takes the child, placing it on its shoulder and they continued to head east. And as I looked at the direction they are heading, I realized that they are heading towards the Walls._

 _I-"_

"Her story stops there." Hanji said after reading it. "The last page is torn and the rest are blanks and covered in blood. We can assume that she was caught or killed."

"But there's a chance that it wasn't a Titan that killed her." Ymir says.

"So what killed Ilse?" Eren asked.

"That's what we have to find out." Hanji says.

Everything was being tensed when suddenly they saw a flare being fired.

"That has to be Heichou!" Hanji exclaimed. "Quick, we need to go there!"


	28. Chapter XXVI: How Jean Does Things

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: April 6, 2017- Thursday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **And so out of ultimate boredom, I created the next chapter! This will be very short though. Beware of drama and all that stuff. I tried not to put them in but it just happened. See you next chapter and without further ado...**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: HOW JEAN DOES THINGS  
** Hiding in a cavern they found, it became their safe haven for the day and Sasha was not feeling any better. Jean never felt this worried over someone before. She was always cheerful and always a glutton but now she wouldn't even eat.

"Come on, eat something already." Connie insisted to give his loaf of bread to the pale brunette but she wouldn't accept it.

Jean wanted to just grab the bread and push it down her throat. For some reason he didn't want the potato girl to go. He wanted her to live, even if she'll hate him for it. Not to mention, watching Connie take care of Sasha... he feels envy.

"If she doesn't want to eat then don't feed her." Jean said to release the rage he is confused with.

"Easy for you to say, you don't really care about Sasha!" Connie shouts at him but that made Jean mad all the more. He grabs Connie by the jacket and lifts him up, shooting the shaved-headed boy a deadly glare.

"I don't want to hear that from you, idiot!"

"Hey guys, let's not create any tension to ourselves okay? Oluo will be back soon. Hopefully with food." Thomas tells them.

Jean continued his glare for a few more seconds until finally letting go of Connie. Connie gulped, he was afraid of course but he didn't let it get to him.

"I'm not gonna take your share to feed it to her if that's what you're worried about." Connie says and went back to Sasha's side, smiling at her as if nothing was wrong. "So, want some meat instead?" he tells her.

"I.. I heard something... did you fight?" Sasha asked with a sore voice. She was lying down at the corner with a fire nearby to warm her. She had her, Connie's and Thomas' cloaks around her to keep her arm because she was so pale that the almost resembles a Titan. Her eyes were a blur but her keen hearing keeps her aware of her surroundings.

"No. Just a normal banter with that horse." Connie joked and held on Sasha's hand to comfort her. And himself.

"Ah, good to know..." she says, her voice softer than before. Her eyes slowly closing.

"Oi Sasha, don't sleep. Oluo is gonna come back with some meat. Lots of it!" Connie forced to be excited and refrained from crying. He needed to be strong.

While watching them, Jean was more angry at himself for saying that. _Why am I so reckless? Careless? And why do I care about that potato girl this much?_ He asked himself. _Or is it because I let Mikasa go?_

"Oi Sasha!" Connie yells and Sasha blinked, her eyes opening again.

He was relieved that they still opened.

"Please don't close your eyes." Connie asked of her, but almost like a plead. Sasha forced a smile and tried to squeeze his hand. She didn't have enough strength though but she tried.

"I can see you crying, Connie. That's so... unlike you." she tried to kid around. Connie tried to be happy. As he squeezed her cold hand.

"It's so unlike you when you don't eat too." he retorts.

Jean took a deep breath and approached the two, removing his cloak and wrapping it around Sasha. But when his hand accidentally touched her skin, he was surprised to feel how cold it was. His heart began to beat rapidly, his mind drawing to conclusions already.

Connie helped him wrap it around Sasha but Sasha held on Jean's hand and he was startled by it because it was like an ice!

"I don't think I'll make it.." she says. "I don't feel so good."

"Quit saying that, you'll make it. And we'll be home before you know it." Jean ignored her and tried to make her feel warm by fixing the four cloaks around her.

"What can home do to help me? I'm... already a corpse." she says and dropped her hand. When she touched him, he was warm and so was Connie. It was so warm that it almost felt like they were fire and she was gonna melt in their touch.

"You're not gonna turn into a Titan." Jean says, denying the upcoming scenario already playing in his head.

"Don't make this harder than it already is." Sasha continued. "I can't eat. I can't walk. I can barely see. I just want everything to be over."

Connie glanced at Jean, wanting him to say something about it. _Of course I'm gonna say something about it you idiot! I just... how do I say this in a nice way?_ Jean thought.

Without thinking it through, he lay down beside Sasha and gave her a warm embrace.

"Jean?"

"You won't hurt me. You're a glutton but you don't eat people." he says. "I'm gonna stay this way until that darned Oluo comes back with reinforcements and you will be fine." his grip around her tightened when he remembered losing a precious friend. _I won't lose you too... so don't leave me._

Connie sat beside them and kept the fire running. Thomas smiled at his comrades, seeing that they've made up so fast.

When Oluo came back, Thomas and Connie were the ones who greeted him a warm welcome. Oluo had a broken 3DMG and a very messy hair with blood all over him.

"What happened?" Thomas asked.

"It's no use trying to escape. The legion is still scattered everywhere. My horse is dead. That leaves Jean and Connie's horses left for us." Oluo informed them, panting. He leaned in the rocky walls of the cave and saw in his peripheral Sasha and Jean's situation. "They're dead?"

"Jean's keeping Sasha warm." Thomas corrected.

"Eh? What's the point? She's a good as a Titan already." Oluo said, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"Jean doesn't believe so." Thomas answered. "And if he wants to save someone... he _will_ save." he added and turned to Jean and Sasha with a smile. Jean saved him once. It took a lot of courage, self-sacrifice and care to do that. Jean could've left, Jean could've dropped him, but he didn't. He saved him.

Oluo shook his head and just rested his back to where it leaned.

"We'll wait until tomorrow to try again. Hopefully, the legion has scattered enough that they're not packs of titans anymore. We can't handle them with just the three of us. Not to mention, a wounded soldier with us."

"Didn't you find any survivors?" Connie asked.

"No. Not today at least."

* * *

Days had passed without any sign of survivor of any food supply. They just shared what they had until they saw something in the sky.

A flare being fired.

"Oluo-san!" Thomas called. "Look!"

Oluo and Connie ran out of the cave to see the flare. A red flare fired from a location not far from theirs. It was a sign of hope. A sign that humanity still lives.

"Well what do you know? I guess someone _did_ survive." he says in relief.

"It has to be the Corporal right?" Connie said in excitement.

"Yep. Pack your bags, we're going to regroup!" Oluo exclaimed and turned to Jean who was carrying Sasha in his arms.

"I'm ready."


	29. Chapter XXVII: The Titan Who Cares

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: April 8, 2017-Saturday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Ultimate boredom:** *laughs* Yes, Rico doesn't like how she was placed along with the Survey but I decided that if I want to introduce her, I need her to join the main team! Yeah, I updated rather quickly. Must be because of my _ultimate boredom_ as of recently *chuckles*. Nah don't worry about Sasha, she'll be fine(?). I tried my best to make all the minor characters who died immediately in the anime, to last a little bit in this fic. Giving Hannah and Thomas recognition was so far what I got. The others, I'm still working on it. Too many characters to develop *laughs* and yes, I intended the mention in A/N as an inside joke. I love your review spams, they make me smile! *smiles*. I'll stop now, just read *laughs*.

 **And so this chapter will be short but when chapters are short it means answers will be given. *laughs* Or is it?**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN: THE TITAN WHO CARES  
** Armin, Reiner and Bertholdt stayed in the biggest tree they could find. Mike was the person who left to scavenge. They wanted to come and help but if Mike takes Reiner with him then the two would fight, if Mike takes either of the two they'll make a problem. And so he went alone, leaving the three with his trust.

It's been days since they were stranded with no horse, no food supply and no one to come and save them. They had to wait before beginning to scavenge or else they're mincemeat. The number of titans within the area of the legion was too much to handle. But with the soldiers scattering, it was safe to assume that the titans would scatter as well.

Armin kept quiet as he evaluated his actions. He actually fought with Bertholdt back there and he almost caused another's soldier's life. In fact, he may have already have blood in his hands. Instead of saving them, he was fighting with a comrade. But while he was thinking about it, he couldn't help but be disturbed with how Bertholdt's been staring, or was he glaring, at him.

It's been hours. Armin was sitting far from the tree's body and remained in the middle of the end of the branch and the body of the tree. Bertholdt was leaning on the tree while staring- glaring at the blonde soldier.

"What?" He asked as nice as he can. He kept telling himself not to level himself to Bertholdt's level.

"..." he said nothing.

"I'm sorry if I fought with you last time. I had to defend myself and-" he paused for a bit before changing his words, 'no, I'm not gonna say it's all your fault because it's partly mine as well. So I won't make excuses. I'm sorry Bertholdt is all I'm going to say' is what he wanted to say but, "Hey-"

"If you're sorry then I was right. You _did_ force Annie to surrender." The other soldier said bitterly.

"You know, I'm glad you brought it up. Because I've been receiving hints from you since Krysta's birthday." Armin will not back down. Even if in his theories... at the back of his head... Bertholdt is...

"I love Annie. Yes! I won't deny it! That's why I am always keeping my eye on you!"

"Then did you know... that she's the Female Titan?"

"I know and I kept it a secret. For her sake. But YOU," Bertholdt points at him, "you're a traitor."

"I'm not a traitor!"

"Traitor who doesn't care of another person's feelings to be considered a soldier but also a traitor of humanity for protecting a shifter!" He yelled. "You don't belong to either side, Armin. You're no human, you're no titan. You're on a side where you're the only person in it."

As the once silent soldier express his anger and envy towards him, he realized how much Bertholdt liked the small blonde. But why? Why does he like her this much? To the point that he's willing to kill?

"Stop it." Reiner, being the one who mediates the two, tells Bertholdt to stop it, with a hand on Bertholdt's shoulder. "Rest."

Bertholdt said nothing more and hopped down the tree. Reiner stared at Armin for a moment.

"Reiner... are you..?"

"Just rest, Armin. Looks like Mike won't be back for another day." He says, refusing to answer his question.

When Reiner hopped down to another branch, Armin remained seated where he was, his mind trying to piece together the bits and pieces of what he's gathered so far.

 _Annie..._

 _Bertholdt..._

 _Reiner..._

 _What's their connection? Do they know each other? How long? How long gave they known each other? Did they come from the same hometown._

Then Armin remembered something that Annie said when they were young.

 _Flashback (reference prologue):_

 _"Any friends around?"_

 _"They're not here."_

 _"Are they still alive?"_

 _"I hope so."_

 _End_

It may be a coincidence, she could've meant someone else but it could also be the perfect fit for the puzzle. If assuming he was right, then it means they're childhood friends and if they're childhood friends, then...

"I know and I kept it a secret. For her sake."

Bertholdt's words... it would only mean he knew long ago that Annie was a titan shifter and that the small blonde has been a titan shifter since she was young. Is it possible that Eren as well? There were no signs that he was a titan shifter before.. maybe Armin was still missing something.

Continuing to think about it. Is it also possible that Bertholdt is a titan shifter? Or Bertholdt just knew of the secret? Is it the reason why he liked her? What about Reiner? Does he know? He's been acting neutral about Annie's case and just acting as a protective older brother for Bertholdt and refused to answer his question... maybe he knows, maybe he doesn't. Both cases still stands.

What is it that Armin was missing? What connects all these theories? Is it connected to baby Titans? To the attack on Shiganshina? The big titans from before?

 _Wait!_

 _Sasha and Connie saw a titan before. One inside the walls. One wearing an armor. Where did it come from? What was it doing there? What happened?_

As he remembered correctly, Sasha was saved by Annie. Annie was involved again! Then Sasha said that Connie and Hannah may be in trouble so she went back. Annie went back but did NOT report anything of what happened when she came back. What's missing?

 _Debriefing Connie and Hannah, Hannah doesn't seem to remember the details because she was somehow delusional after Franz's death. Connie on the other hand had no detailed information of the titan. But he mentioned someone came to save them. Someone with a gun. The titan changed its course and they escaped. And as far as everyone knows, only the MP has guns._

 _MP. Gun. Mysteriously saved them. It has to be Annie!_

 _But what happened? Then? Who did the titan chase? Or did he chase this mysterious savior assumed as Annie?_

" ' _Traitor who doesn't care of another person's feelings to be considered a soldier but also a traitor of humanity for protecting a shifter!'_ "

 _Was he talking about me? Or was he talking about himself?_

 _Did he mean he cares for this person and he's comparing me as someone opposite of him? If so, then it means..._

 _Traitor who doesn't care of another person's feelings to be considered a soldier means... a soldier who cares for another person's feelings._

 _but also a traitor of humanity for protecting a shifter means... a soldier who will not protect a shifter is in humanity's side._

 _This doesn't make sense. He's saying he cares about another person's feelings but he's not protecting a shifter which is Annie. Then he's not talking about himself? What am I missing?_

 _Annie..._

 _...you have the answers..._

 _...to my questions..._

 _...if you won't tell me..._

 _...I'll figure this out myself._

* * *

Mike came back and was relieved to find that the three did not kill each other while he was gone.

"I saw a flare." He tells them. "The captain is still alive."

"Captain Levi?" Reiner asks.

"When need to hurry. It's a signal that it's safe to travel. If we're late, we might be left behind." Mike says as he checked how his 3D Maneuver Gear was doing. There was little gas last.

Armin removed his 3DMG and gives it to Mike.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked. Bertholdt glanced at them.

"You'll need it more than I do." Armin says. "I'll use yours. If I'm running out of gas, I'll tell you then you can just carry me or something."

Mike nodded and agreed with the exchange. "Alright soldier."

Armin got Mike's 3DMG and returned Bertholdt's gaze.

 _I'll get my answers, Bertholdt. And I'm gonna expose your secret._


	30. Chapter XXVIII: The Past He Can't Let Go

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: April 10, 2017- Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Scattershot98:** Hi, thank you for reviewing! And yeah, the Armored Titan has something to do with the walls back then but Armin haven't seen him yet because he didn't appear in the scene. Thank you again for your review, I hope you enjoy!

 **Ah another short chapter. Since there won't be much to brief you with, I'll tell you my plans for future chapters. Or not... I tried typing it but there will be spoilers so maybe not. Okay we're back so slow-paced mode so stay with me my friends!**

 **SIX chapters left before this volume ends!**

 **WARNING! BEWARE! BE AWARE OF THE CHANGES THAT I'M ABOUT TO DO. So Levi's past, everyone already knows about it from the OVA episode. But as usual, I am not gonna follow through with that. I'll make changes. Some scenes may be predictable, some may not, but whatever, you've been warned!**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: THE PAST HE CAN'T LET GO  
** They've been running for hours now. They had no horses, they didn't want to use their 3D Maneuver Gear for emergency purposes so all they did was run. No one stopped. No one dared to look back. No one spoke a word.

Run.

Running.

Run.

Running.

Run.

That was all they did until...

"Heichou!" Petra yells and Levi and Mikasa stopped running to turn and see that Petra was kneeling beside the fallen blonde soldier. "Can we rest? I think we've ran a distance now." she pleads as she tried to help the exhausted soldier up.

"No. We can just carry her with us." Levi said and turned his back on them.

Mikasa however doesn't find it fair that they continue running. They've been running for so long now that there wasn't even a single titan around them. Krista was tired.. too tired to even move. She can bet that Krista didn't say anything to keep up with them but now she's at her limit. Ymir would've volunteered to carry her and would also defend her even if it was Levi Ackerman she's against with.

If Ymir can do that for Krista and would do that for Eren then... Mikasa would do it for Krista as well.

"Heichou, we _should_ take a break." she says.

"What did you say?"

"We're safe from the Legion now so it's best to rest before beginning our travel again." she replied with a straightforward expression, almost equal with Levi's. Petra didn't say a word as she stared at the two.

It took a while for Levi to reply.

"Alright. Find us a good place to rest, Ackerman."

* * *

While Krista was sleeping in peace in Petra's lap, Mikasa was gathering branches, preparing to start a fire. Levi on the other hand was on top of a branch, looking up at the starry night. Thinking...

 _"We're safe from the Legion now so it's best to rest before beginning our travel again."_

When Mikasa said that, Levi remembered an old friend. A friend from the past.

 _Flashback:_

 _"We're safe from the thugs now. We should rest." Furlan Church said._

 _"No. We're NOT gonna rest. They could be on our tails by now." Levi said, not stopping to walk but Furlan grabbed him by the shoulder to force him to stop. "WHAT?!"_

 _"Isabel is tired! We should rest!"_

 _"If she's that much of a problem then we shouldn't wait for-"_

 _PUNCH!_

 _"Don't be a jerk Levi! Isabel stood up for you just as you stood up for her! It's what we do as family! We're following you because we look up to you! At least consider us as someone special to you, even just a bit!"_

 _"Furlan..."_

 _"She's been training all night, she's been keeping things that she think is too low for you to worry about but as a friend you should know about it already!" Furlan continued._

 _"Furlan stop talking!" Isabel yelled as she panted. She fell on her knees because she was tired of running._

 _"I'm sorry." Levi whispered as he walked away from the two, leaving them behind._

 _End_

Levi wakes up seeing that the sun was up. He wasn't blinded by the bright light because of the shade from the branches and leaves blocking the suns rays. He was surprised he fell asleep but he didn't panic. He sat up and looked down to see that the fire was out and there was no one there.

Did the girls leave him? He wanted to ask but then he was startled by a gentle voice greeting him, "Good morning."

"Brat?" He failed to hide that he was startled but it wasn't like Krista would make a big deal out of it. "Where is Petra and Ackerman?"

"They went out to find for anything to eat. They didn't want to wake you up because you-"

"That's all I want to hear." he says rudely and stood up to look in the distance.

"Is there anything troubling you, Heichou?"

"Nothing."

 _Flashback:_

 _Levi Ackerman, Furlan Church, Isabel Magnolia, they were the best of friends, living in the underground of the Walls. They are the vigilantes of the Underground and would often make enemies with thugs because of their heroic deeds towards others. And now they are hiding. Hiding from the thugs that ganged up on them. Almost killing them._

 _"Do you think they stopped now?" Furlan asked._

 _'Is that a question?' Levi wanted to answer but he stopped himself when he remembered that he argued with Furlan and he_

 _"Obviously they're still looking for us! I can feel the heat from here!" Isabel replied._

 _"Man, we're gonna need to find a new career if that's the case." Furlan grumbled. It was hard to live like that, hiding when they're already in the Underground. What a life. Levi thought the same._

 _After leaving them he tailed them, keeping them safe. He didn't want them to know he was around. He didn't want them to know he really cares._

 _"Hey Furlan, do you think Levi-aniki is coming back?"_

 _"In case you don't know, you're the one who shove him away." Furlan joked but Isabel scowled at him before looking away, she believed that what Furlan was saying is true. She knew that she was dead weight. So she was guilty. "But you shouldn't blame yourself. I have a part in it too."_

 _"Yeah but... if only I didn't force myself to be by his side then maybe you and him will still be friends."_

 _Furlan smacks her head and pulls her closer, one arm over her neck to hug her. "Of course we're still friends! That's just one of the usual arguments we have!"_

 _"R- Really? But he looked really pissed?"_

 _"Then you don't know him like I do!"_

 _Levi never smiled. Levi never cried. Levi never showed any expression. But this one time, he held on his chest. Clutched his clothing and watched the two people that he cared about the most. Why did he walk away that time? Why did he leave them?_

 _End_

"Looks like they're not back yet." Krista says. Levi wasn't sure how much she said but that's all he heard. "I'll just go get some water." she said all of the sudden.

"Do you want to die?"

"I saw a river on our way here, it's not far. I can get there and get back here in time." she says to ease his worry, if ever he was worried.

"Tsk, do whatever you want." he said, pretending not to care. And turned away from her.

Krista climbed off the tree to go to the direction of the river. Levi watched where she went until she was gone. He sighed and looked at the sky. He's been troubled a lot lately. Was it because Krista reminds him of someone?

Nah. He shook his head and carried on with his memories.

That day. He wished that...

 _Flashback:_

 _Levi wakes up seeing that there are soldiers, in uniforms that he haven't seen before, surrounding Furlan and Isabel. Furlan had his arm stretched out while the other hand was holding a knife. Isabel was hiding behind him. Their 3DMG's were taken from them. Levi felt threatened and hurried to grab his 3DMG's swords._

 _He didn't get the chance to show himself when a tall man with a fine build showed up._

 _"Where did you get these?" Erwin asked. But neither Furlan nor Isabel answered. "You two are not in the position to act like arrogant kids right now."_

 _"What does it matter? You pretty people with nice suits from above have a good life up there,. Why are you here?!" Furlan says._

 _"Well first off, this is from above. Second, it's our job to check if the Underground City is doing fine. It's our responsibility to do that." Erwin replied but Furlan didn't care. He just needed to say something but it looks like he wasn't good in speaking like Levi was._

 _"I stole it!" Furlan confessed but then Isabel pulled on his shirt._

 _"Furlan!" Isabel shouts at him._

 _Furlan ignored her and kept on speaking. "You got a problem with that?! I needed to survive, my friend and I needed to survive, so I stole it! Is that a crime? Because you and your pathetic soldiers are not helping us!"_

 _"Stealing is a crime. And as far as I remember, there are three 3D Maneuver Gears reported missing. Where's the other one?"_

 _Furlan was about to say something that will put the blame on him again but this time Isabel stepped out of hiding. "I broke it. When I was practicing I broke it so he stole another one for me. Please don't punish him for it!"_

 _"Isabel!" this time it was Furlan's turn to get mad at her._

 _Levi gripped on the swords in his hands. "Those idiots..." he muttered. "Why aren't they telling the truth?"_

 _Erwin nodded. "I heard that there's three of you. There's one that leads you. Where is he?"_

 _Isabel and Furlan's eyes widened. But they didn't speak. They are willing to take all the blame if they had to. For Levi... Isabel wanted to prove that she wasn't a burden. That Levi doesn't have to worry about her all the time. That she can keep up with him. Furlan wanted to show Levi that he doesn't have to protect him all the time, that he can protect him as well, even if it's not the way that Levi does it._

 _Erwin saw the resolve in their eyes and smirked.  
_

 _'Those idiots!'_

 _"Well then-"_

 _"I'm the third member!" Levi yelled as he got out of hiding._

 _End_

It's been hours and still Krista wasn't back yet. He wasn't worried of Mikasa or Petra, he was actually more worried of Krista. Yes she's a soldier just as Mikasa and Petra were but... for some reason the way she is... she's reviving a memory of the past.

Levi sighed and got up from where he lay.

 _That idiot. What's taking her so long?_

He walked towards the direction that he remembered Krista went to. After walking for a couple of miles, he finally saw the river. But seeing the river, he saw that it was red. There was blood spilled in it.

The corporal hurried to the river when he was alerted that Titans may be nearby. When he arrived, he saw that Krista had her remaining broke sword in her two hands with several dead Titans around her. But other than the dead titans, there were three more living titans who are drooling to eat her.

Krista was wearing her white long-sleeved shirt that was soaked in water. Her pants as well. Her Survey cloak was covered with blood along with the corpses of the titans she killed.

"I can do this..." she said as she panted. "I can kill you all... I'm a soldier. I'm not useless." she tells herself.

And that only reminded Levi more of what he wanted to forget.

 _Flashback:  
_ _Being sent in battle, everyone was dead. That was all he can remember. Death. Everyone was dead. Despite all those words he remembered his friends were saying._

 _"I don't die easily man! So don't worry about me and worry about yourself!" Furlan says._

 _"Yeah don't worry about me too Levi-aniki. I'm a soldier now and a soldier is not useless in battle!" Isabel added._

 _But despite all these words... these words that is supposed to assure their safety... they died.  
_

 _End_

Before the titans can take a leap at Krista, Levi tackled the titan and with a swift strike, the titan was cut in half. Krista was in shock as Levi came to her rescue. He didn't give her mind time to process what was happening and killed the remaining two titans.

"H- Heichou... I'm sorry I-"

Levi said nothing but he removed his cloak and put it around Krista. "It's cold. Use that until we get back." he says and led the way back to the camp.

Krista blinked in confusion but nodded. "Y- Yes heichou!"

 _I won't mistake the same mistake again, Furlan, Isabel._

When they got back, they saw Mikasa and Petra with a couple of fruits in hand. Days later they continued their travel until they saw a flare being fired.

"Who do you think it is?" Petra asked when she saw that Levi stared at the fired flare in wonder.

"I don't know. But we have to go there because surely... everyone will mistake me for firing that flare." Levi answered as he shifted his pacing to go towards the flare's direction.

"How do you know?"

"I just do."


	31. Chapter XXIX:The One Who Fired The Flare

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: April 11, 2017- Tuesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Who fired the flare then? Whoa, whoa, whoa, if it's not Levi then who fired the freaking flare? Then you're about to find out in this chapter! Five more chapters to go my friends and we're gonna end the first volume! Oh boy! This chapter will also be very short!**

 **Scattershot98:** I don't usually respond to these, for other users to ask me to review their work, because every time a user reviews my work, I check their profiles to see their written works and review it in return. And the reason I did not read it is because there was an OC leading the fic. I also saw you've got one review and two reviews on the other fic. They love your work and I don't want to pretend that I read it by sending a 'cool please write more' review on you if I haven't read it for real, that'd be rude. So instead I am sending my apologies. (And about the gate getting rammed, if you're talking about the anime then we probably misunderstood each other. I was talking about my fic when I said Armin haven't seen the Armored Titan yet because in the anime, yes there was no doubt that Armin and Eren saw the Armored Titan.)

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: THE ONE WHO FIRED THE FLARE  
** All groups ran towards the direction of the flare the moment they saw it. Maybe it was because of hope that they clinged to the thought that Levi fired it but deep inside there was this doubt that keeps on telling them that it wasn't Levi. Either way, they hoped.

Hoped that humanity will live on.

And they were relieved to be reunited again.

"Eren!" Mikasa yelled the moment she spotted Eren.

"Mikasa!"

"Are you alright?"

"Y- Yeah I am."

But they weren't the only ones who were happy to reunite with each other. Ymir was so worried but she was glad to see Krista on Levi's back. "Krista!" she called out and ran to Krista but after a few seconds she realized the scenario... _Levi gave Krista a piggyback ride?! LEVI DID?!_

Krista got off Levi's back and ran to Ymir to give her a big hug. Ymir was too stunned to return that hug.

"Ymir! I'm glad you're alright!" Krista said with a laugh. "Ymir?"

 _L- Levi g- gave Krista a piggyback r- ride... I can't believe this._

While Krista was trying to revive Ymir from her own delusions, Petra went to Oluo seeing that he and wasn't wearing his cloak. And that behind him, Jean and Connie were carrying a very pale brunette.

"I- Is she-?" Petra wanted to ask but Oluo shook his head.

"He wanted to carry her all the way here." Oluo explained. "He wanted to believe there's a cure for her."

Levi saw it as well but decided to react until Sasha actually becomes a titan. Arguing with these survivors is the last thing he wanted to do right now. Meanwhile, Armin joins Eren and Mikasa on their reunion.

"Armin! You're alright!" Eren said in joy and he and Armin hugged.

"Eren! Mikasa!" Armin greeted to them and the three did a group hug.

Reiner and Bertholdt just watched the three. Must be nice to be reunited. Bertholdt had a grudge. Seeing them reminds him of a small blonde that wasn't with them at the moment. Reiner noticed his look.

"Bertholdt, you okay?"

"Annie should've been here with us." he muttered. "If she wasn't cau- if she hadn't surrendered."

Reiner didn't say anything else. Hanji hopped beside Levi and was about to give him a big hug but Levi stretches his hand towards her to push her away.

"Don't you dare." he says but Hanji was too tall for him. She passed through his hand and succeeded with the hug. Rico said nothing and just kept quiet. She didn't belong there. She didn't belong to the Survey.

"Oh come on Heichou! I missed you!"

"What's that supposed to mean? You're disgusting!" Levi yelled and pushes Hanji off of him. "We've survived worst cases."

"Aww but everyone here keeps on hugging each other. I thought that-"

"Save it!"

Eren notices that Rico had no one to talk to and ran towards her for a talk. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"I- It doesn't mean we had a talk that time you can talk to me casually!" Rico wanted to yell at him angrily but it didn't result that way towards Eren. He just chuckled. He was used to it. Ymir does it all the time.

"If you don't feel like talking to Heichou or Hanji-san then you can give it a chance to talk to us." he suggests.

Mikasa approached them to join in the conversation. Armin followed and only now did he realize that Rico was a Garrison.

"E- Eh? She's a Garrison?!"

"Shh!"

"Then what are you doing here?"

A story that Eren will save for Armin later. The two later glances at Jean, noticing that he's been quiet in there reunion. They noticed that Jean never left a certain someone's side. They later realized that the person he's been staying with was actually the potato girl, Sasha.

"Jean!" Eren called as he and his friends went to him.

Connie ran to Jean with a bottle of water from Krista. "Here Jean, I got some water."

Eren didn't say anything. He observed what was going on and noticed that Sasha was dying. "I- Is she infected?" he dared to ask.

"..." Jean didn't want to answer.

"Jean-"

"I don't want to hear it from you, Eren." Jean says harshly and gripped on the bottle of water. "I... I don't want her to... I don't want to believe that..."

Armin was in shock to see it. Was Sasha actually...? No. It can't be. It wasn't long ago that she was with them, training. It wasn't long ago that they were running together on the first day in training. It wasn't long ago that they eat together. It wasn't long ago that she'd snatch up Connie and Eren's food. It wasn't long ago that...

Armin was in denial. Was it actually happening? Another comrade of them? Dying?

He knelt down to touch Sasha's forehead, feeling that it was as cold as ice. He gasped when he touched her. It was the same as touching a titan already. _Jean... she's beyond saving._ He wanted to say but the fact that Jean was already hurting, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Oi brats, we've got bigger problems than that." Levi says to catch their attention.

"What is it?" Reiner asked.

"I didn't fire the flare." he announced to them. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. Excluding Krista, Petra and Mikasa.

"W- What do you mean, Levi?" Hanji wanted to confirm. "It can't be anyone else but you!"

"That's the point. It's not me. I wanted you all to know that." Levi assures them that it wasn't him.

"T- Then who fired it?" Thomas asked everyone in general. But no one can give an answer. They can only conclude that it was someone else. Someone that is not part of the group.

"C.. c.r.. y.." Sasha mumbles. Jean was surprised she spoke.

"Sasha?" When he mentioned her name, Levi and everyone else's attention turned to him. "What is it?" Jean asked again.

"T...t..it..tan.. c..ry.."

"Titan cry?" it didn't make sense. He looks up at everyone who gave him a puzzling look, except Hanji and Armin.

"She can hear a titan's cry nearby." Hanji translated.

"What do you mean? Should we run?" Jean asked.

"The person who fired the flare... is being chased by a titan." Armin supplemented Hanji's translation.

* * *

Upon arriving at the location where they believed the flare was fired, they see a crowd of titans surrounding a man in the middle where a huge boulder was. The man was on top of the boulder, hugging himself. His clothes was ragged and dirty.

"I- Is that the person who fired the flare?" Petra asks.

"Looks like it." Ymir replies.

"Well then, all we have to do is save him. Then let's get back home." Levi says. "If he hadn't fired the flare then we would've still be stranded separately. We're taking him home with us."

"H- Heichou..." Eren called out.

"What is it brat?"

"That man over there... looks just like my father."

* * *

While Hanji and the others were plotting a rescue strategy, Eren was sitting on the ground, leaning on a tree, thinking. That man may or may not be his father. A part of him was happy but at the same time a part of him was not. He was in denial. But at the same time he was relieved.

He was confused on what to feel.

"Aren't you supposed to be celebrating in joy, Jaeger?" Ymir says when she saw how down he was.

"I know. But for some reason, I'm not."

"Is it because you don't believe he's your father?"

"It's because I'm afraid. To find out who he is I guess." Eren replied with a sullen voice. "If he's my father, I have a lot to ask of him. If he isn't... then I till have lots to ask of him. He doesn't just look like my father. He's _wearing_ the exact same clothes my father wore when he left."

Ymir wasn't entirely sure if it was right for her to be the one to hear this right now. She thought that maybe it should've been Mikasa or Armin. So she just nodded and pretended not to care, turning her back on him now with a shrug.

"Or it's just a coincidence. You think too much." she says and was about to walk away when...

"What would you do if you were me, Ymir?" he asked.

She kept her back facing him. "I would just meet him. If I listen to my fear then whether or not he's the real deal, I get nothing if I listen to my fear and doubts." she says, trying to sound like her answer is from an arrogant child who cares nothing.

"Thank you, Ymir."

"You don't have to say my name twice." she says and left.

 _I know. But for some reason, I feel connected with you._

* * *

Rescue mission begins!

They wanted to just use their 3DMG to swing from the trees and grab hold of the man. But once they do that, the crying titans will search for him and they will scatter like what the Legion did. That is not safe. So before doing that, they needed to cage the titans by cutting off the trees and creating a cage out of it.

Eren, who can turn into a titan, helped out with that.

As they proceeded with the plan, the trees started to fall and it startled the titans but those who were in front were too focused on reaching for the man. Rico, Reiner, Levi and Mike swung in the air towards the man. Mike grabs him and was assisted by Reiner. Rico and Levi stayed behind as bait and chopped off the arms and hands of the titans trying to reach for them.

When Reiner and Mike were safe, they fled.

The cage wasn't tight or fixed well to lock them there forever but it was enough to buy them some time and escape.

With their remaining horses, some took the horse but some used their 3DMg to escape. Eren was in a horse with the man now.

"Are you okay?" Eren asked.

"Y- Yes. Thank you." the man said.

"Do you... remember me?"

"You're Eren. My son."

The words that Eren longed to hear for in years.

 _Father..._

He wanted to just hug his father but he needed to steer the horse and follow the path home. They didn't know which way was home but they can work on that after they escape. Mikasa saw the joy in Eren's eyes, the tears pouring afterwards.

"Well then Mr. Jaeger, we have a lot to ask of you when we get back." Levi says.

But then Jean increases his speed and kept a good proximity with Eren's horse and his. "Mr. Jaeger! Can you make a cure when you get back?!" Jean asked. He didn't just want to ask, he wanted to beg.

"Cure?"

"My friend is infected by a titan. Can you help her?!"

"I- I'm sorry. But there _is_ no cure for that. I gave up a long time ago."

With his answer, Jean was hurt. Eren knew that. Eren can feel his pain.

"O- Of course." Jean decreased his speed again to level with Connie's. Sasha was snuggled in the big blanket they made out of the Survey cloaks and her lips were dried and dark. Her teeth are becoming sharp just as her nails are. Every time her eyes open he can see her eyes now gone sore.

"Jean..."

Jean gritted his teeth in anger. _SCREW IT ALL!_

"I'm sorry." Grisha tells his son when he noticed that Eren was worried for Jean.

"Yeah but you owe her. She's the one who heard the Titan's cry. And you know, we're grateful that you fired the flare. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to find each other. And wouldn't have found you." Eren tried to cheer him up.

"Fired a flare?"

"Yeah. You fired one, didn't you?"

"I- I didn't."

Silence.

"Then.. then who did?"

He didn't say it out loud to not catch any attention.

Eren didn't receive an answer because the next thing he knew was that... there was a gunfire. And that someone was shot.


	32. Chapter XXX: Soldiers with Guns

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

 **Date Uploaded: April 11, 2017- Tuesday.**

 **Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.**

 **Scattershot98:** Thank you for your review again! It's alright. I'm actually glad you weren't mad or anything because some would get mad. Anyway, thanks again!

 **Okay so it wasn't Grisha who fired the flare? What is happening? Why is it suddenly so confusing? AHHH! Well people, please hang on a little longer! We'll get through with that! Now we'll find out who these people are and who really fired the flare and what the flare was for!**

 **Prepare for a battle that I'm not sure is awesome because I'm still working on my fighting scenes.**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER THIRTY: SOLDIERS WITH GUNS  
** "Then.. then who did?"

He didn't say it out loud to not catch any attention.

Eren didn't receive an answer because the next thing he knew was that... there was a gunfire. And that someone was shot.

BANG!

"THOMAS!" Jean yelled when he saw Thomas fell of his horse after the shot. He was more angry than ever. Everyone was being taken away from him. Marco. Mikasa. Sasha. Thomas. Deep inside, he wondered why him? Why does it always have to be him to lose everything? In anger, he took a leap from his horse and with the help of his 3DMG, he flew midair to cut in half the person who shot Thomas.

"Jean wait!" Eren shouts.

But Jean was too angry to be in control.

"JEAN!"

Levi and his squad attacked from behind to save Jean from being shot to death. They have enemies they've never seen before but what most troubled them the most was that... they were fighting against humans.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Levi scolds Jean when he was safe.

Their enemies were hidden in the trees and bushes. Levi killed one of them and what would mean war.

"They attacked first!" Jean reasoned.

"Did you even value your life when you chose to attack?!" Levi grabs Jean's jacket, forcing him to stand. "You could've died you piece of trash!"

"Heichou..."

Levi throws Levi down. He wasn't able to lift much of Jean since Jean was obviously taller than him. Their enemies didn't make another move so far but there was silence. Jean was too shocked to move. Hanji and Krista aided Thomas, he was still alive.

"A true soldier doesn't neglect his comrades presence!" Levi scolds. "And if you cared only for your ridiculous feelings then you're not a true soldier! You're just trash hanging out with the real deal!"

Jean was offended. It struck him. Eren knew how heavy those words were so he hopped off his horse to stand in front of Jean and defend him. "Captain! Jean.. Jean was wrong but didn't he care about his comrades more than anyone?! He saved Sasha even to this point!"

"But that's stupidity already." Levi corrects.

"What?"

Jean couldn't react. It was stupidity? To save someone he cares about? To save Sasha? A comrade? It was ridiculous to protect a friend? Thomas? A comrade? Why? Why is it always wrong for Jean to do anything?

"Clinging to what is not real. He's just prolonging his comrade's suffering. Instead of her just dying already without having to struggle this far, she'll have to live with it because of his selfishness to want her to live."

 _'Recklessness._

 _Stupidity._

 _Selfishness._

 _It's gone viral, hasn't it, Furlan?'_

"But Heichou it wasn't just Jean! I cared for Sasha too and I want her to live as much as Jean does!" Connie didn't want to leave al the blows to Jean. He had a part in it too. He stepped forward with courage.

"H- Hey, maybe we can do this later." Hanji says. "We have an enemy surrounding us." she reminded them. "It's odd that they've stopped attacking us though."

"Rico, take a group and check on the enemy." Levi instructs. Rico was startled at the call of her name. It was sharp and emphasized. She turned to him and caught his gaze, his killing gaze. She gulped and nodded.

"R- Right away."

"Hanji, go with them." Levi ordered. before turning back to Eren, Jean and Connie. Rico took Reiner, Bertholdt, Oluo, Mike and Hanji with her. They left to scout the area. "Now where were we? The part where Jean is not the only one to blame?"

"Why... are you being like this?" Jean asked. "WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!"

"You misunderstood me, brat." Levi states and Jean was puzzled. "I'm not saying you're wrong. In fact, I'm giving recognition to what you've done."

"What?"

"What you did to your friend. I envied it." Levi admits. "I didn't have the courage to do that. To stand up for them, to stand up for my friends. I let them die. In fact, I killed one of them to show them I care but hell I was wrong. If I hadn't killed him then maybe he'd still be here with us."

"Heichou..."

Full of regret, the captain shares his burden to them. A burden he never shared to anyone before, a memory he never told anyone either. It was resurfacing. He knew that when it resurfaced the first time, that he cannot escape it.

"That's why... I want you to live, brat."

Jean was caught speechless by this.

"If you die because of that lame comeback to avenge your friend then all these acknowledgement will go to waste." he added. "So don't do that again."

"Y- yes heichou!"

Eren was relieved it wasn't gonna end up the way he thought it will. Then Rico came back to report them. "They're not around anymore. They left."

"Left? Just like that?" Levi wondered.

"It's true. I checked thoroughly as well but it's like they never existed. Even the comrade of theirs that we killed is gone." Hanji supplemented. "No traces of gun powder or footprints anywhere."

"H- How is that possible?" Eren wanted to know. Is it even possible? He was so sure that there was a lot of them from the shadows.

"What did they want? They just attacked us and left? That's it?" Levi did not understand.

Connie approached them with a worried face. No, it was more than worried. He was, trembling. "I- I would say that they want our horses but... I think they took Sasha."

"Sasha?" Hanji asked.

When Jean heard it, he got back to his feet and ran towards the location of Connie's horse where Sasha should be. But she wasn't there and so was the horse. He looked for the other members and everyone was present excluding her.

"W- Why did... they want her?" Jean clenched his fists. "Why... her?"

They didn't know. Not even Armin could comprehend the series of events happening simultaneously before them.

 _First we got attacked, they shot Thomas but only wounding him. It led to Jean's feelings being hurt and attacking the person who shot Thomas. Then heichou and his squad arrives to kill that person instead. After that he and Jean had a talk. It wasn't that long before Rico and her squad went looking for them._

 _That short amount of time can't possibly be enough for them to retreat that fast. It's too little time for them unless..._

"What if all along there wasn't as many attackers as we thought?" Armin says.

"What do you mean Armin?"

"What if there was a small group sent, enough to start a diversion and take what they want." Armin said. "It's impossible to retreat and erase their trail in a small amount of time no matter how good they are. So what if all along we were set up to believe there are many of them where there's only a few? If my calculations are correct, about three of them."

"Where are you getting all these ideas, Armin?" Reiner asked. All of the sudden Armin had conclusions?

"The guy you killed is member 1. His role is to get everyone's attention by purposely shooting Thomas but not in a vital point, causing Jean to attack him recklessly. We all focused on the dead member and Jean." Armin explained.

"Then how'd they force Connie to leave his horse and Sasha?" Jean inquired. If Armin was so smart then he can answer this one.

"The remaining two members. Member 2 erases their trail, or they probably already cleaned it and was just waiting for us to come here. Member 3 is to keep an eye on Sasha. When Connie left her behind, they took her."

"Why are you such an idiot for leaving Sasha alone?!" Jean yells at Connie.

"I- I left her with Ymir!" Connie yelled when he remembered he didn't leave her alone. But that leads to another question. "E- Eh? Where did-?"

"Ymir is also missing!" Krista exclaimed when she realized Ymir wasn't around either.

"Tch, she doesn't speak much so we didn't even notice." Levi commented. "So assuming they took both Ymir and Sasha, the question is why?" he asked in general then turns to the blonde boy to ask him personally. "Why is that, Arlert?"

"Because Sasha survived the infection longer than anyone else." Armin replied.

"What do you mean?" Jean asked.

"This is only mere theory but, Sasha was infected at the day we got separated from the Legion, right?" Armin asked for confirmation. Jean nodded. "From that day on until now, she's still human when supposedly, she'd already be a titan. Why? I don't have the answer to that. But I know that they know about that fact."

"Whoa Armin, if what you're saying is true then that means..."

"Yeah. They've been following you since that day."

* * *

Two weeks later..

Jean wakes up in a room. The curtains were white and dancing with the wind. He felt dizzy but he sat up, heading towards the door but sees a mirror on the way. He stared at his reflection, seeing how much he was covered in bandages. He sighed and focused on exiting the room, sluggishly walking there and opening the door, surprised to see that there's a brunette on the other side, holding a tray of breakfast and blinking in surprise to see him awake.

Her surprised visage quickly fades as it turned into a smile.

"Good morning, Jean." she greeted.

"Sasha?"

"Yes?"

Jean reaches to touch her hand, warm and soft, his hand slides up to her arm until it reached her face- her cheek. Sasha blushed and walks backwards. Jean still seemed out of it so she'd let him off the hook this time.

"It's me, Jean." she tells him and he started crying and forced her to drop the tray of food and putting her in a warm embrace.

"I'm glad." he cried in her shoulder.

"Yeah, thank you, Jean." Sasha tells him as she wrapped her arms around him as well.


	33. Chapter XXXI: One Month Ago

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: April 19, 2017- Wednesday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Phantom:** Thank you for your review. And I'm not sure but the last chapter I've read in the manga is 89.

 **Who fired the flare then? Whoa, whoa, whoa, if it's not Levi then who fired the freaking flare? Then you're about to find out in this chapter! Five more chapters to go my friends and we're gonna end the first volume! Oh boy! This chapter will also be very short!**

 **I updated my profile, feel free to check it out. Oh and, for the final three chapters, every time I release, I will also release one for _Little Soldiers._ So if I release today, you can expect a chapter for LS too.**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER THIRTY ONE: ONE MONTH AGO  
** One month ago, after the Survey left for their recent expedition, Erwin watched them as they left Trost to travel. With Dot Pixis standing behind him.

"I heard Rico joined your team." He said. "I hope she's a great help to your commanding officers just as she was to mine."

"I'm surprised that she joined our pack as well." Erwin replied after turning to face his fellow commander, his eyes locked on Pixis'. "But maybe it's for the best."

"Is it?" Dot asked, his stare returned Erwin's. "Or it's for your own benefit?"

"It's for humanity's benefit, Pixis."

"Rumors say that Rico was relieved of her duties as Garrison. I find no truth in that because I will not relieve a soldier like her, unless of course, someone pulled some strings to make it happen." The other commander continued to speak. Erwin didn't react to his statement though. "But, rumors will just be rumors, aren't they?"

"Yes, rumors will be rumors." Erwin agreed.

The two broke their staring competition and breathes in ease when it stopped. However, the two kept on sending each other glances of doubt.

"Take good care of my soldier for me." Dot tells him.

"Will do, Pixis."

Pixis was about to turn his back on Erwin but he stopped midway, "Oh and, may I ask to see your special prisoner?"

"Hmm?"

"I'd like to pay her a visit."

* * *

"So you're Annie Leonhardt. I knew I've seen your face somewhere." Dot said the moment he entered her lonely jail cell underground.

Annie was lying down in bed, reading a book. She just stared at the commander with a dead stare.

"Ah where are my manners? I'm Dot Pixis, commander of the Garrison force. You may have seen me once or twice in your training days as I recall." He says while keeping his hands behind his back. "I remember seeing one soldier always sneaking out of the training ground without Shadis noticing." He contiued to share. "Although I gotta admin, he wasn't doing a good job on keeping an eye on everyone."

He wasn't angry. He wasn't feeling any sort of hatred or resentment towards her. Annie wasn't sure how to perceive him as. Is it a new tactic to force her to talk?

Pixis, being an observant soldier, saw at once the wary look tha the small blonde was giving.

"Please, no need to bring your walls up Ms. Leonhardt. I came here not as your enemy nor your ally. I came here as a visitor who has questions for you." He clarified his reason for being there. Annie thought so. "Even so, will you choose not to tell me?"

"Who knows?" she says and redirected her attention back to her book, to show Pixis she's not interested to talk.

"The battle continues, Ms. Leonhardt. Between humans and titans, and our discovery of titan shifters helped turn the tide. Your addition to our army would most likely be helpful."

"I didn't surrender myself to side with you." She says and Pixis smirked.

"So you surrendered after all." He said and Annie knew she had to be very careful with her answers next time. "But if you didn't surrender to side with us, _why_ did you surrender, Annie?"

Annie chose not to answer, afraid to give him unnecessary information. Pixis knew he can press some more.

"Is it because of that boy Arlert?"

Annie didn't show any facial reaction but Pixis can see it in her eyes. There was a hint of worry there.

"Like I said, I am not an enemy. I came merely to ask you of a few questions." he reminded her. He saw the worry was gone but she wasn't going to talk anytime soon.

"You're not my enemy today, but what about tomorrow?" Annie says and Pixis would like to ask her the same thing.

"I'd like to tell you the same thing Ms. Leonhardt. You may have surrendered yourself today but what about tomorrow? What if Arlert dies? What if someone provokes you? What if you're simply waiting for instructions?" he tells her. "We don't know which side you're on, Annie. But you know ours. Isn't it a bit of our disadvantage?"

"I'm..." Annie clutched tightly on the book now... which side was she on?

"You're a soldier and you have a mission. I understand that. But how far will you be a soldier of the titans? How far will you be an aid to humanity?" when Annie didn't respond anymore he took her silence as her time to think things through. "I think I'll ask you when you're ready." he says.

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

"What... is your first question?"

* * *

A week passed and there was one member who returned from the expedition. _One_.

"Commander!" Hannah yelled.

"Open the gates!"

"Commander!" she shouts again until she's entered the gates, in a hurry to meet with the commander.

Erwin went out of his office of course to meet with her. "What is it soldier?" he asks. Hannah unmounted her horse but her legs were trembling so much that she wasn't able to stand well and fell on the ground.

"T- There- there w- w- was a- a a- a legion of T- t- titans! T- They're coming this way!" she tells them in a panic. Everyone gasped. "B- but c- captain tried to lead them away a- and now e- everyone is..."

"Prepare the troops! We're going to search for survivors!" Erwin said hastily.

* * *

But upon doing their search, they found the few survivors from a failed rescue mission.

"What happened?" Erwin asked when he saw the wounded group of survivors. "Where's Levi?"

"He didn't make it out." Eren reports to him sadly.

"We tried to rescue Sasha and Ymir but we were outnumbered." Connie added. Erwin familiarized himself with the faces of these survivors and did not find Hanji either. So he turned his attention to one who is not a new recruit.

"Rico." he said sharply. "We need to talk."

Surprised to be called by him, she remained standing- frozen for a while. "Yes sir!" Eren glanced at her to see if she was alright. According to Rico's story, she was forced to be there with them.

Erwin's troops camped in the outside that night and will return back to Trost to plan their next course of action while the rest of the survivors are being treated with their wounds. Eren however snuck out of his tent, since he doesn't need treatment, he needed to see for himself what kind of person the Commander was.

"Levi's wounded. Hanji's been captured. And so is Arlert. That's a lot of failure for a team leader that your commander recommends a lot, don't you think?" Erwin says. "What more? You risked your lives to retrieve a dying soldier!"

"Ymir wasn't dying."

"Well risk your life for _one_ soldier?" Erwin corrects.

"Captain Levi is the one making judgments here, sir." Rico says in her defense. Leaving out the part that Jean was the one who wanted to save Sasha in the first place. And a little bit of Krista. "I'm in no position to-"

 _SLAP!_

"The reason you were there is to make sure everything goes according to plan." the commander reminds her grimly of her mission. "Not to go along with their decisions."

"I'm sorry it won't happen again." she said with an unsteady voice.

"I'm sorry what was that?"

"I'm sorry it won't happen again sir!"

"Prove yourself to me at our rescue mission. We will retrieve our captured comrades and be sure to report to me everything you will see. Is that clear?" he said, his voice sounded like he was threatening her behind those words.

"Yes sir."

Eren gulped and hid behind the tree. When Rico exited the tent he kept himself hidden. Which side was she on? All those things she told Eren? Was there any truth in it? Or was it partially true? What was she ordered to do?

Well he's about to find out but then Erwin walked to the shadow he can see outside. "You heard and saw nothing, soldier." he said, not knowing it was Eren. But he knew someone was there.

Eren changed his voice as he responded, "Yes sir!" and left. Erwin was a lot dangerous than he thought.

* * *

The following day, they got back to Trost to refill their 3DMG with gas and gear up.

Well that and a little secret weapon.

Erwin went to the basement to see Pixis having a chitchat with Annie again. He was enraged that Pixis went there without informing him so he barged in the cell and Pixis and Annie fell silent to see him.

"You're back. How's your little search for your team?" Pixis asked innocently.

"We'll talk later." Erwin tells him but right now he wants to talk to someone in private. Pixis saw where his gaze was and nodded. He excused himself and left. "Annie-" Annie ignored him and opened the book in her lap. Erwin stomped towards her and grabbed the book, throwing it behind him and pushing Annie's head to the wall. "I wasn't done talking." he says.

"I wasn't planning to listen." Annie tells him, making him more mad.

He gripped his hold on her head for a minute there before he lets go. "It's about Armin."

"…"

"You don't care?"

"What about him?" she asked, poker-faced.

"He's held hostage by those you serve." With Erwin saying this, Annie's barrier broke. The look of worry was evident in her face and Erwin knew he got her. "We are planning to do a rescue mission."

"And you want me to be there by your side." Annie fills in the unsaid words he wanted to say.

"Yes."

"I can't serve two masters." Annie tells him but he stared intently at her. Telling her she had no choice. She understood that stare in a whim. She's seen it a lot when she was young.

"Then you better decide who you want to serve." Erwin tells her as he left her cell, unlocked.

* * *

 **A/N: So hello guys! I know I asked this before but I'll ask again, since this fic is about to end, can you guys share me your thoughts in the final chapters? And this one? Thank you in advanced!**


	34. Chapter XXXII: Rescue Mission

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: May 1, 2017-Monday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **"Who fired the flare then? Whoa, whoa, whoa, if it's not Levi then who fired the freaking flare? Then you're about to find out in this chapter! Five more chapters to go my friends and we're gonna end the first volume! Oh boy! This chapter will also be very short!" okay I've been copying and pasting this for the past chapters I guess sorry.**

 **Ultimate boredom:** *laughs* Hello there dear reviewer! Glad to know you're back! Sadly, it wasn't the beast titan who fired the flare. And nah *chuckles* I don't mind reading a very long review from you, in fact I enjoyed reading your spam reviews! *chuckles* but beware for a pretty long reply as well. And yeah, I'm contemplating whether or not to do a Levi x Hanji pair or something else. And as promised, Sasha didn't die, eh? But we have a two week gap from how that happened to their current situation. And thank you. It's okay, I was actually always having a hard time writing Levi, the guy is so darned complicated to write! But hey, I guess it's working to continue with the way he is now. And Jean, well, I'm developing the guy *chuckles*. And when you post guest reviews it doesn't show up until three days has passed but if you have an account, it'll show up. Anyway, It was unexpected for me to update so fast as well *chuckles* probably the hype because it's about to end. And yes, I made sure Erwin is a big jerk here because I still have no lead or clue as to where I can pick up villains except the Titans so a little something from the humans is not so bad. And aaah, thank you so much for your critical review! I will try and improve more! *chuckles* I recommend reading Rated T and below fics. Although I put warnings for any unnecessary scenes anyway. And don'tcha worry about it, it will have a Volume 2 after I finish writing for _Humans VS Titans: Little Soldiers_ because the spin-off will explain some mysteries. And I think I held you here too long already. Thank you again.

 **So guys, every time I update this fic, I will update _Humans VS Titans: Little Soldiers_ as well so expect that update will be slow. Although we have this chapter and another one left before Volume 1 of HvT ends! Wait for the spin-off to end then Volume 2 will be released. Okay?**

 **Thank you all for your reviews and support!**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER THIRTY TWO: RESCUE MISSION  
** "Hey! We need water here!" Ymir shouts. "We're thirsty!"

She, Sasha and a couple of other skinny, pale-looking women are locked up in a cage. Every woman in there was quiet, behaved and weakened, excluding Ymir who's been very noisy ever since she woke up.

"Anybody?!"

"Please, don't anger them." pleaded one of the women to Ymir.

"What are they gonna do? Beat us to death?" Ymir retorts.

Another woman glanced at Ymir, observing her clothing and seeing the Survey's emblem on her jacket. "A member of the Survey Corps I see. You and this girl." she says. "Are your teammates coming anytime soon?"

"Like hell would I know." she replied. "But I know we're getting out of here if you ladies aren't such wimps."

"We're... dying." the same woman replied. "We've been infected. They take the liveliest prisoner for a day and when they return the prisoner, she is already infected or weakened. Seeing how you're alive and well, they will take you first."

"Thanks for the warning but I'll manage to get out of here when that time comes." Ymir says. "How long were you guys infected anyway?"

"A couple of hours ago." the woman gestured at the others who are weaker than her. "But they've been infected since yesterday."

"And you guys already look like you're a hundred years old." Ymir commented rudely. "My friend here has been infected for almost a week now." she says and points a thumb at Sasha.

The woman gasped. "How is that possible?!"

"I don't know either. But I don't think she'll last anytime today. It's been so long after all."

 _*Growls..._

Ymir and the rest of the women heard growling from the ones who were infected since yesterday. Ymir glared at them seeing that they've already turned. _This is a joke right?_ she tells herself when she saw the women who are now Titans now on their feet.

"Get behind me!" she shouts at the women as she remained in between the humans and the titans. "And take good care of my friend!"

"Wait! Don't! You'll die!"

"AAAAH!"

* * *

Later that evening, Erwin and the rest of the rescue team arrived at the location of the soldiers with the guns.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Erwin asked.

"Yeah. They have watchtowers here and there so we best be careful." Eren says and pinpoints the watchtower that he remembers. Erwin nodded.

"We'll attack at midnight, for now, we'll send a small squad of infiltrators and wait for their signal."

* * *

In a tent near the hideout of the soldiers with guns, the Survey captain was panting and critically injured as he survived the day's torture. He was lying down the ground on his own pool of blood, his hands tied behind his back and his feet chained to the ground.

He saw a shadow outside the tent, walking towards his location. He tried to move but he could barely move an inch. When the shadow had entered the tent, his eyes glared at the figure. "You... what are.. you.. doing here?"

"I'm here to save your sorry ass, heichou."

"Get.. away from me!"

* * *

Meanwhile, the same cage where Ymir, Sasha and the other women were locked in before was now abandoned. The door was opened and there was blood and remains everywhere. Titans were dead. Although they recognized a green cloak that belongs to the Survey.

Rico and Mikasa exchanged looks and kept moving forward,

There weren't guards walking around or guarding any tents or the small houses around. It was a bit odd but they continued their infiltration.

While walking around, someone grabs Mikasa from the dark, causing Mikasa to almost cut the head off of Ymir.

"Ymir? You're alright?" Mikasa asked. And eyed the torn clothing of the girl before her. "Where's the rest of the prisoners?" she continued to ask and removed her jacket to give it to the latter and cover herself.

"They took Sasha again. And what prisoners? The women?"

"We tried to rescue you and Sasha but we were ambushed. Heichou, Hanji-san and the others are captured." Mikasa informed her and Ymir got worried all of the sudden.

"Is Krysta alright?" she asked and grabbed Mikasa's shoulders, holding it tightly.

"No. Krysta was captured along with the others." Mikasa said bluntly and Ymir's eyes almost darkened in rage. "But we'll find her. I'm sure she will be alright."

"If anything happens to her-"

"She's fine." Mikasa repeats calmly. If she shouts back at Ymir then they'd both be in trouble. "Erwin and the other reinforcements are here to continue the rescue mission. You can lend a hand only if you won't lose focus."

Ymir smirked. "Understand."

* * *

"Krysta? Are you alright? Hey wake up!" Rico tried to shake Krysta awake.

 _What is she doing outside of the tent and the houses? Did she escape and faint here?_ She wondered. She turned to her back to see that Mikasa had disappeared. _C- Crap. Now what?_

Then she looks back at Krysta, noticing that she was wearing a clean white dress. A dress? She's wearing a dress! She has no injuries of the sort either.

 _What is going on here?_

"Historia! What are you doing-?" a soldier called out but pauses when he saw Rico. "Who are you? What have you done to her majesty?!"

"Eh? H- Her majesty?" _who are these people? Just what exactly did I sign up for?_

The soldier pointed his gun at her but Rico lifted Krysta up and used her as human shield. _If you're important to them then they won't shoot you, Krysta. But... how do I get you out of here?_ _Erwin... that demon shouldn't know about this..._

"Let her go!" the soldier warned her.

"Where are the other prisoners?!" she asked instead.

"Like I'd tell you!"

"Tell me or I slit her throat!" she tried to negotiate.

"You wouldn't!"

"I would!" she pointed her sword at Krysta's neck, subtly shaking.

"The prisoners are being taken to the chambers! They will be served to our king!"

 _King? Serve? Who?_

 _THUD!_

Someone hits Rico from behind and she lost balance. Both her and Krysta's body fell on the ground. The soldier froze in shock and was later killed as well. "You shouldn't tell intruders about our secret." he says and walks away, dragging the soldier's body with him.

Right after saying so, Krysta rubbed her eyes and looks around her. Seeing the blood trail from the dead soldier earlier and Rico half-conscious beside her. "R- Rico-san! Wake up!"

The female soldier held on her injured head and looks at Krysta. "Krysta?"

"We have to get out of here!" Krysta said and helped her up. It would be really hard to drag her out of there.

 _**Step, step, step..._

"Krysta?" the soldier mumbled. "J- Just who are you?" Rico asked.

"I'm-"

 _BANG!_

"-Rico-san!"

"Don't turn your back on the enemy." the soldier who shot Rico said. "Princess." then they heard the fallen soldier groaning in pain and slowly getting up. "Well, well, looks like one bullet isn't enough."

 _I am such an idiot!_

Taking the flare gun from her belt, she shoots in the sky and it was probably the last thing she did.

"RICO!"

* * *

"What color is the flare again? Red?" Connie asked.

"Red for the success of the silent rescue infiltration and green for the attack command." Eren replies.

"Hey Commander, isn't it taking too long for them to fire the-" Connie wanted to say but then they saw the flare being fired. "Okay, I take it back."

Erwin eyed the green flare being fired. "Attack!" Erwin commanded and the rest of the Survey in hiding around the whole hideout attacks. Battlecries awakened the whole hideout but it didn't matter, it will be a raid to the death. then Erwin turns to Eren. "Do your thing, Jaeger."

"Yes sir!" Eren said and bit his thumb.

* * *

"That was Krysta just now!" Ymir exclaimed when she heard Krysta's scream before the battlecries occurred.

"Hurry, Ymir!" Mikasa said and the two headed to the direction where they heard Krysta was.

There they saw blood trails, two dead soldiers of unknown uniforms being burned, Krysta who was lying down at the side and Hanji covered in blood. Her aura was intensely scary.

"Hanji-san?"

Hanji turned to them with a serious look.

"Someone burned these soldiers before I could examine them." she informed the two.

"Krysta!" Ymir hurried to Krysta's side.

"She's alright. Just unconscious." Hanji added. "Whoever these guys are, they're long gone."

"What do you mean? We have them surrounded!" Mikasa tells Hanji in case she doesn't know.

"All evidence is wiped already. There's nothing left to see. Just prisoners to save."

* * *

Meanwhile, as the Survey raided the hideout, Jean and Connie were in a rush to find the prisoners. Or more specifically, Sasha.

"There's no one here!"

"Don't tell me they took the prisoners with them!"

While the two were busy searching every tent and every room inside the wooden structure in the middle of the hideout, they heard explosion noises outside. Tents and other small houses began to explode, killing Surveys as it burst into flames.

"What's going on outside?" Jean asks. Connie took a peek and saw that fire was crawling everywhere.

"T- This is bad Jean, we gotta retreat or we'll burn to a crisp!"

"We're not leaving until we find her!"

 _BOOM! Boom! BOOM!_

Explosions here and there, the two got separated. It would seem that someone wants to bury them alive. "Jean!" Connie screams since Jean was trapped inside. "Don't worry Jean I'll call for help!"

"Connie... go save yourself!" Jean shouts back and ran deeper into the big base.

"Jean don't be an idiot! Jean!"

 _I am not leaving her... I won't give up..._

"JEAN!"

"Oi Connie look out!" a female voice warns Connie but warning him would be too late so she pushed him out of the way before the burning ceiling falls on top of Connie. The big house was falling apart that's for sure.

"We have to save Jean he-!" Connie pauses when he realized who saved him a minute ago. "-N- No way!"

"Did you say Jean?" Sasha asked.

Connie stared at her, his eyes never before focused on someone this long before. She was back to her healthy self, wearing ragged clothes with a Survey jacket over it and the official green cloak of the Survey.

"You're... alive..."

* * *

"Commander Erwin!" Levi yells to catch Erwin's attention. Erwin was outside the range of the hideout, he was on a branch, watching as the fire swallowed the hideout and the Surveys who went to do the rescue mission. "Erwin!"

"Levi, I'm glad you're alright." Erwin said while his eyes still locked on the fire.

"Why aren't you telling them to retreat?! There's no one there anymore!"

"Did all the prisoners escape?" he asked.

"We saved everyone already! Why did you still send them?!"

Erwin said nothing but it was evident it wasn't nothing because there was a smirk in his face. "Call the retreat. Then let's go home."

* * *

Meanwhile, Eren in his titan form was looking for any signs of life amidst the fire.

 _Why aren't there any soldiers around?_

He wondered as he walked cautiously around the place. It will crumble soon and the whole forest will be on fire.

"Eren!" Armin yells when he spotted Eren through the smoke. He coughed a bit. "Eren!"

 _Armin?_

Eren ran towards Armin, relieved to see he was alright. "Eren we have to get everyone out of here. This is a trap. Everyone's gonna die." Armin tells him. "Everyone left since yesterday. We're just here for bait."

 _Bait?_ Eren's titan body nodded and gestures for Armin to follow his lead.

The two were on their way out of the fire and the smoke but then they saw Connie waving his hand at a random direction, calling for help.

"Connie!" Armin calls out. "Come on, we have to go!"

"Jean's still inside!" Connie reports to them. "Sasha went after him! I told them not to go after each other but they won't listen to me!"

"Sasha?"

 _Sasha?_

The two boys can ask later. Right now Eren rushed to the burning structure where Jean and Sasha were but... there was no need. Sasha was practically dragging an unconscious Jean out of there. Eren, Armin and Connie helped pull Jean out.

"He's still alive." Connie says.

"Of course he's alive you idiot!" Sasha yells at Connie and Connie froze. Sasha stopped her shouting, thinking she may have offended her comrade but then Connie began to laugh. "Eh?"

"It's good to have you back Sasha!" Connie said with a big smile on his face. Armin and Eren were happy as well.

"Yeah, it's good to be back." Sasha smiled as well and looked at the faces of her comrades, especially Jean. "Thank you, everyone."

* * *

Two weeks later. Inside Wall Sheena,

"Fascinating... Ms. Blouse's recovery from infection." Erwin said as he read the reports.

"How is it possible?" The King asked.

"I don't know, but we'll keep a close eye on her from here on out.

Meanwhile,

"Maybe Jean is awake by now. Who wants to give his breakfast to him?" Connie asked the team.

"No way I will never serve that arrogant Kirstein!"

"Y- Ymir he's not really arrogant!" Krysta defends.

But while the two argued, Sasha got up her seat. "I'll do it!" she says and hurried to take one last bite from her loaf of bread and left the dining room. Eren and the others watched her leave the room in wonder.

"S- She didn't finish her meal..." Eren says in awe.

"M- Maybe she's still sick after all." Connie added.

"Nah, she's just in love." Ymir comments and everyone sent her intense stares. "W- What's with those stares?"

"What do _you_ know about love?!" they asked her at the same time.

Meanwhile...

"It's me, Jean." she tells him and he started crying, forcing her to drop the tray of food and putting her in a warm embrace.

"I'm glad." he cried.

"Yeah, thank you, Jean." Sasha tells him as she wrapped her arms around him as well.

* * *

 **A/N: Well I hope to hear from you guys!**


	35. Chapter XXXIII: The Doctor's Home

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

Date Uploaded: May 7, 2017- Sunday.

Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.

 **Edit: Ultimate boredom:** I forgot to reply due to excitement to post this *laughs*. Anyway, I was the one surprised that this time you reviewed early *chuckles* I expected you'd be late. Yep, I love them and you most definitely helped this story reached to its end! Without your constant reviews, this fic wouldn't have reached this far. And yeah, spin-off might be postponed due to the manga's latest chapters affecting my plot. And, *laughs* I guess it was never solved who fired the flare, eh? And thank you dear potatoes. I will certainly try not to do that to Sasha again. Commander Jerkwin, that's a good one *laughs*. And yep, a little Historia for today because in the next volume, you'll see more of that. My pleasure to have passed your test dear reviewer! And please, don't reduce your blabbering, I love reading them! Makes me write long chapters such as this, *laughs*. Anyways, I won't hold you back now, enjoy!

 **Okay so I've read the latest chapters in the manga and this will cause me to postpone the spin-off _Humans VS Titans: Little Soldiers_ because I will have to alter the childhood chapters to something related to the manga. Surprisingly the moment I created my own childhood of Annie, Isayama-sama decided to reveal the Marley's side of the story. I read 91-93 in hopes to see Annie (since the spin-off is about her) but nope.**

 **Anyway, this only means I will proceed with volume 2 and postpone the spin-off until I get enough light on how to write my own Marley side of the story. Okay?**

 **And this chapter will be really long! *laughs* I wrote in my drafts and I didn't see the number of words. Well, a good way to end the first volume, eh?**

 **Here is the last chapter, enjoy my friends! If you review, well I'd reply through PM.**

 **Read on!**

 **CHAPTER THIRTY THREE: THE DOCTOR'S HOME  
** Finally getting back home, everyone was led to safety and their wounds treated. Hanji was so excited to study Sasha's miraculous recovery but she and Levi had to make reports about the events starting from the Legion's attack. It's a pretty long report that they had to write too. The 104th recruits are on a break. Eren was with his father.

Levi was in his room, staring at his arms then looking at himself in the mirror, his hand passing by to the parts of his body that was cut, bruised and beaten. But right now there are no signs of that. As if nothing happened to him.

Petra knocked on his door and he opens it.

"Heichou, the Commander wants to see you." she says.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." he said and hurried to close the door but Petra was worried.

"Did something happen when you were captured?" she asked before he could close it fully.

"No." was all he said and closes the door. He leans on the door, hearing Petra's footsteps as she leaves... "Nothing's wrong with me." he tells himself.

* * *

Later arriving at Erwin's office, he noticed that there was a pile of paperwork on the side of the table.

"Hanji worked pretty hard recently. She's too hyped up about the recent information we've been having about the titans." Erwin said when he noticed Levi was looking at the piles of paper she passed.

"Nothing new really." Levi muttered. "So why did you call for me?"

"How are you feeling?" Erwin asked.

"Better then yesterday."

"Nothing significant? Different?" Erwin continued to ask. Levi was getting the idea now.

"As quickly as her blood entered my veins, my wounds healed. But it burned inside of me and the her blood inside me vanished." he reports. "If my assumption is correct, it evaporated just as titan blood does when it spills from the titan after we kill them."

"Is that all? Did you not heal after that?"

"No. That was all it did." Levi answered and Erwin nodded as he mentally took note of it.

"Can we really trust her? Let her walk around the walls without guards or chains. Healing me doesn't prove anything." Levi wanted to ask in exchange of the information he gave.

"We don't trust her, Levi. We're using her. Walking freely in our territory is a small token of appreciation for her cooperation. Nothing else."

"I see..."

"Well then, that would be all for today. You should rest now."

"I think I rested long enough." Levi said as he stretched his arms while walking towards the door to leave the office.

* * *

Meanwhile, Eren was disappointed in his meet with his father. He didn't remember anything except Eren's name and face. Mikasa tried to cheer him up but her attempts were not helping his case.

"It's still good news that he's alive. Right?"

"It's good." Eren answered without joy or emotion. He just uttered it as it is.

Armin arrived with some food, hoping to divert Eren's focus for a while. Mikasa caught his gaze and mentally thanks him for helping Eren.

"So Eren, we have beef and pork today. Which one do you prefer?" Armin said, placing both meals in the table to show him.

"I'm not really hungry today, Armin. You and Mikasa can share with that." He says, his eyes not even looking at the food. He drifted off somewhere but in his surprise, he was smacked in the head the moment he turned away from Armin and Mikasa.

"Do I have to feed you with a spoon, Eren?" Ymir asked, her voice sounded that she's irritated. "Or you'd prefer to sulk all day? Because we're all affected by your stupid sad face right now!"

It was as if Eren's eyes opened all of the sudden. He looked around seeing worried faces everywhere. Everyone was worried of him. He then looks up at Ymir, standing before him with her hands crossed.

 _Krysta must've been too worried to eat that's why Ymir is here_. He thought.

It wasn't hard to figure out Ymir's intentions anymore. She does things either for herself or Krysta, nothing more. But while he was stuck thinking, Reiner wraps an arm around his neck.

"Don't be so hard on Eren. He's been through a lot!" Reiner tells Ymir with a hidden smirk. Eren knew he and Ymir have been rivals over something.

"Aren't we all going through the same hardship?" The freckled woman said and shrugged.

"Yeah but you're not the one with a father who doesn't remember anything." Reiner retorts. His words sounded like, there was a message within it. "Wouldn't you feel down? Or you're too densed to feel anything?"

"That's funny Reiner, I wonder how you'd react knowing the person you thought could answer the question you've been saving all this time, you find out that he doesn't have the answers." Ymir threw at him, also now with a smirk.

There was an inside tension that only those who are good at analyzing would notice. If not then it's just a simple exchange of banters between casual rivals. But Armin can see there's something else. Eren just has a hunch. Krysta was worried because she's suspicious of how the two has been acting.

"How about we do a competition? Which of us is best in helping Eren's father remember everything?" Jean suggested.

"Making Eren's father a competition? Is that okay?" Sasha finds it offending, especially towards the son. They turned to Eren to see if he approves of this.

"I'd join this competition if it's okay." Mikasa said, raising her hand and her visage expressing a serious and competitive expression.

"You kidding me? Mikasa? I'm in!" Connie exclaims.

"What do you say we settle this once and for all?" Reiner tells Ymir. "Winner gets to ask for 'her' hand in marriage."

"Aren't you rushing it? A date will suffice." Ymir proposed instead.

"Done."

"H- hey guys. Eren-" Armin noticed everyone was already deciding on their own so he wanted to speak in Eren's behalf if Eren couldn't speak.

"Is it okay to spend your break time to help my father?" Eren asks. He wasn't offended by them, instead, he was curious why they're willing to spend their rare breaks to help his father.

"Of course it's alright with us!" Sasha says. "After all, 104th squad sticks together right?" she added, while gazing at Jean who blushed and looked away.

"It's history so don't mention it." He says, somehow embarrassed as he remembered everything he said and did in defense of the potato girl.

Sasha just grinned. Typical Jean.

"Well Eren? When does the competition begin?" Thomas asked.

Eren stared at his friends for a moment. And sees that Annie was at the corner, eating alone, not joining their conversation or their little group huddle. It was a surprise she was actually there but because of Erwin's approval, she is free to roam around Trost.

"Annie. Aren't you going to join us?" Eren asked and everyone's attention turned to Annie, majority were surprised of her presence. She wasn't there before was she?

"Among the 104th recruits, she left us didn't she?" Mina remembered. "She joined the Military Police."

"But even if she's part of the MP her heart stays with her family! 104th squad! Because whenever we need her, she comes to our rescue." Sasha defends as she approaches the small blonde. "Isn't that right, Annie?" Sasha knows that Annie was always there when they needed help...

Annie's facade had faded for a moment. She expected to be pushed away, hated, ignored... but it was actually the opposite. Right now the shock in her face was evident. A mixture of confusion, shock and relief. She stared at Sasha for a moment and shifted her gaze at the 104th squad remains. Wasn't she the "Traitor of Humanity"? The one who killed hundreds of soldiers for the titans? Isn't she treated as an enemy? She wondered. Then what is with this weird treatment?

"Why are you-?"

"You're just like Eren all over again!" Sasha says with a chuckle.

"The idiot isolated himself from us. Thinks he's so different from us just because he shifts." Jean added. "You're acting like him."

 _Eren didn't kill anyone. I'm nothing like him._

She refused to look at them but then Armin's shadow caught her attention. She looks up at him, seeing him stretch a hand towards her.

"We don't care what others think of you." He said. "You're Annie to us. You're no monster or traitor. You're a part of our team."

"Armin..."

"Just join already!" Jean chides. "Because none of us are leaving this warehouse until you take Armin's hand." Jean's been with 104th squad long enough to know how this kind of thing works. At the back of his head he's angry at Annie because she may be the one responsible for Marco's death but right now, he wants to save the mood. Looking at Annie now, her reaction to their 'reaching out to her', was beyond a monster's level. If she were nothing but a monster and a killer, then she wouldn't react like this.

Annie hesitantly reached Armin's hand and he pulled her up and led her to their small huddle up.

"And now the competition begins!" Eren announced and threw his fist in the air. Everyone else exclaimed in joy.

* * *

"I'm here to see Commander Erwin." Pixis said but the guards won't let him in Erwin's office.

"I'm sorry the Commander won't speak with anyone today."

"It's urgent. I need to speak with him right now." Despite Pixis not shouting at the guard, his voice was indeed rising to the point that his rage was restrained because he had self control.

"I'm really sorry sir but-"

Pixis pushed the guard out of the way and forced his way in. The guards tried to stop him.

"Erwin, we need to talk." Pixis demands a talk with him.

"Let him in." Erwin said and the guards released Pixis and left the room. "What do you want?"

"I heard Rico died in battle." Pixis said, his voice calming a bit but there is a hint of anger in there.

"She died like any other soldier did. With honor because she served humanity until her last breath." Erwin simply replied and continued to write his reports to the king.

"For someone who leads a squad she disappeared without anyone witnessing her death? Let alone find her remains?" Pixis tried to argue.

"Why are you arguing over one soldier's death?" Erwin asked as he dropped his pen in his desk, now looking up at Pixis to give him his full attention. "You know well enough that every time there's an expedition, countless brave souls die in battle. She's no different from those brave souls. Unless of course she's a coward who hid somewhere and got killed that's why no one saw her."

"I would've let it slip if I didn't investigate well enough." Pixis replied.

"You think I set her up to die in the battlefield?" Erwin raised a brow on his fellow Commander.

"I know you set her up to die now that you got what you want. Of course, without dirtying your hands." Pixis said with confidence. Erwin was hiding something. Ever since the discovery of titan shifters he's been hiding something.

"Do you have proof of this accusation?" He challenged.

"No. But I know you did it."

"Your speculation does not prove anything, Pixis. You know that better than anyone." Erwin won this case. "If you leave this room now I will forget that you accused me of such things." He offered. But Pixis... will not accept anything from him.

"You told her to fire the flare for a successful infiltration. But everyone else was briefed that there are two colors. A red flare and a green one. The green flare is a signal for an ambush. But the problem is, she only has one color to fire." Pixis threw what he can. He's not gonna leave the room without unraveling even just a bit of information from the Commander.

"Again, it's only your speculation." Erwin said. "Should I play a recording that you need evidence before accusing me or anything?" He mocked. This angered the Garrison commander of course but he held it in and clenched his fists.

"Then let's hope I'm wrong." Pixis finally said in defeat. "Because I will bring you down myself if I prove my speculations correct, Erwin Smith."

* * *

Meanwhile, the 104th squad were alternately speaking with Grisha, trying to help him remember the memories he lost. But the one who is fired up the most is...

"How about any of Eren's most embarrassing moments when he was a kid? Or any cute gestures and baby faces?" Mikasa asked a bombardment of questions that Grisha couldn't answer. The once-quiet Ackerman was now unashamedly questioning Grisha any information about Eren.

Connie and the others were shocked at how much Mikasa had changed her personality.

"M- Mikasa, I don't think asking him these questions will remind him of anything." Jean tried to tell her.

"Then what's the right way to know more about Eren?" Mikasa asked him sharply. Most definitely she's got an ulterior motive for being there- and Jean just found out.

"W- well..."

"Oh how about we retrace his last whereabouts!" Thomas suggested.

"Or take him outside the walls." Connie said.

"Do you wanna die?" Reiner asked rhetorically. "Take him outside walls?"

"Well he's been outside the walls since Eren was a kid. Maybe just a small distance from Trost would help." Connie defends.

"It's not a walk around the park when you leave the walls you know?" Mina points out.

"E- eh? B- but-"

While they were arguing about it. Eren was quiet, sitting at the corner. Armin approached him with a worried look.

"Are you Annie now?" He joked.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't tell them." Eren said with a sad look in his eyes. "The mood was too good to break."

"Yeah. And in the end Annie couldn't join." Armin added sadly.

"Why did she leave anyway? Did she cower again?"

"No. Captain Levi summoned her. I don't know why." Armin replied. Eren thought that whatever the reason was, it is related to Annie's participation in the rescue mission.

Eren noticed Armin's mood. He and Armin were down lately.

"So my dad is kinda the trend today huh?"

"I know. But isn't it weird? How much he look like him?" Armin wondered.

"Maybe it really is him. I'm just denying it. But at the same time, something strong within me is telling me he's not the real one." Eren said and sighed. "I just... I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Well, it looks like you're not the only one struggling." Armin said and cocked his head towards Krysta who wasn't mingling with the group. It was unusual for her to distance herself from everyone.

Eren turned to Armin with a questioning look. Armin returned this gaze.

Then they both approached Krysta.

"Krysta, are you alright?" Eren asked. "You've been quiet lately. I hope the rescue mission didn't put a toll in you or something."

"D- don't worry Eren. The rescue mission was a success. You guys saved me didn't you?" She replied almost nervously.

"Yeah physically you're here but it's almost as if you're also not." Eren tried to tell Krysta that she's different from before the rescue mission. Krysta nervously glanced at Ymir who was teasing Connie and Reiner.

Eren saw the look in her eyes and offered to talk outside. She gladly followed his lead as they left. Mikasa saw them go. Eren cannot slip out without her noticing. She made it her mission to keep everyone busy for the meantime.

"What is it? What's troubling you?" Eren asked.

"I'm scared... everyone around me... they're going to die." She said.

"What are you talking about?" Armin asked. "What happened when you were captured?"

"Rico-san... she..."

"Rico? You saw her?" Eren remembered correctly that Rico was assumed dead when the Survey was checking the roster for survivors.

"She- she saved me but... th- they shot her..." she began to tremble in fear as she reminisced what happened that night.

"They? The soldiers with guns?" Eren questioned.

"H- He... he d- did it... I.. she..."

Armin and Eren couldn't connect the words formed from her stuttering. She didn't make sense but judging from her correct expression... that night didn't end a success. Something bigger happened that night. Something they don't know. Something Erwin hid from them.

"Krysta? Why are you here? Are you alright?" Reiner asked as he exited the house.

"Reiner." Armin called his name, remembering his conversation with him and Bertholdt. Reiner and Bertholdt were also mysteries to him.

"What did you two do to Krysta?" Reiner asked them when he noticed Krysta's state.

"Reiner please, I'm fine." Krysta lied but Reiner can see through her well.

"I'll call on Ymir maybe-" Krysta grabbed Reiner by the arm and she hugged his arm, her hands clutching tightly on his arm.

"Please don't." She pleaded.

"So you're not alright." Reiner said when he figured out Krysta was hiding something. If she didn't want Ymir to know, this secret is _that_ bad.

"I.. I don't want her to worry... I don't want her near me. Or anyone else... you... you'll all..." her grip trembling, Reiner was worried. He went away from the door and used his free arm to put around Krysta for comfort.

"You can trust me, Krysta."

"We can help you, Krysta." Eren says. "Just tell us-"

"My name..."

"Huh?"

"My name is not Krysta."

Her name is not Krysta. It was the last thing that they heard from her. Because before she could reveal anything else, the group had left the house, everyone walking out in a jolly manner. It was surprising that they all get along well now.

Connie was in between Sasha and Jean, he had his arm over Jean and the other arm over Sasha. Mikasa never left Grisha's side. Ymir on the other side of Grisha, Mina and Thomas right behind them. Bertholdt as well.

Krysta held on Reiner's jacket tightly. He followed her gaze and noticed she was watching a happy go-lucky Ymir, now teasing Mikasa.

"Reiner... I don't want her or anyone else to die because of me..." she muttered. Reiner kept his eyes locked on everyone else but he listened closely to Krysta.

"They won't." Reiner assured and held on her hand to calm her. "You'll be fine."

"Let's join them before they think something's wrong." Eren suggested and they followed the group.

* * *

"Plead guilty then I'll see what I can do to lessen the punishment." Said the captain.

"Why are you helping me? Or are you ordered to do this?" Annie asked. She's been wary of everyone lately. Especially that everyone is nice to her for a reason she does not understand.

She's trying to understand but she couldn't. It wasn't long ago she was being hunted down. They hated her, cursed her, wanted to kill her... and she was their enemy.

Levi could see through her. Right now her walls are down and her mask is no longer there. She's a gullible girl filled with questions that searches for an answer.

She's different from the filth I met before...

"Even if I'm ordered to help a criminal, I won't do it." He said, being indirect about what he really wants to say. Annie took his answer with understanding. She lowered her head at him, showing her gratitude. "Tch." He pretended not to care but he was actually surprised she'd do something like that. She's really just a normal girl with normal emotions after all. "You can go back with the recruits once Erwin finished interrogating you." he said so the small blonde would raise her head.

They exited the office that was stationed near the walls, there they saw the 104th group trying to persuade the Garrison to let them out. Specifically, Hannes.

"I love my job kids and I don't want to be transferred to another part of the Military because I allowed you to leave without permission." Hannes tells them.

"You can keep an eye on us while we leave!" Connie tried to negotiate.

"Or tell us a specific distance to go to." Hannah added.

But while they were talking, Grisha spotted Annie with Levi, his eyes widening in shock. Annie's hands were bound by ropes, so he assumed she was a prisoner. He slowly approached her with his hands trying to reach for her face. Annie in return, was surprised to see him as well. In fact, this was the first time she froze in shock. As if seeing a dead man come to life.

"So you're alive, little one." Grisha said when his hand reached her cheek.

Eren and the others could not be more surprised to see this scene before them. Levi on the other hand became suspicious of their relationship. He doubts Annie will say anything to them even with this exposure.

Since her hands were tied, she looked away from him to keep her face from being touched by him. She turns to Levi.

"Take me to the Commander." she asks of him. She can't stay here any longer.

"Wait Annie!" Eren wants to ask a lot of questions right now. But Armin held him back, Mikasa held on his other hand. He turned to his two friends. "What?"

"She won't tell you anything. You'll just make this moment worse." Mikasa tells him. He knew she was right.

Levi grabs her by the arm to push her in front of him as they go to Erwin's office. Levi didn't face the recruits since he knew they had mixed feelings about the new revelation to them. When they were far, he decided to talk.

"You're ruthless and a soldier with a strong loyalty to your master." he stated. "Just who exactly are you serving that you'll lie even to your friends?" he knew she wouldn't answer but it wasn't bad to give it a shot.

"Myself."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx**

 **And the first volume ends! See you next volume guys! I hope to hear from you this time, bye!**


	36. Credits Section

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.**

 **TITLE:** Humans VS Titans

 **SUMMARY:** AU. The world inside the walls of Trost are raided by Titans. Humanity is struggling for survival. Will they be able to overcome the Titans?

 **PAIRING(S):** Eren x Mikasa, Armin x Annie, Jean x Sasha, Slight Jean x Mikasa, Reiner x Krista, Slight Ymir x Krysta, Slight Hanji x Levi, Slight Levi x Petra, Bertholdt x Annie, slight Eren x Ymir

 **WORD COUNT:** 93,418

 **Next Story:** Humans VS Titans: Volume 2

 **Next Story Release Date:** Unknown

 **Story Spin-off:** Humans VS Titans: Little Soldiers

 **DATE PUBLISHED:** March 21, 2016.

 **DATE FINISHED:** May 7, 2017.

 **LANGUAGE:** English

 **RATING:** T

 **REVIEW COUNT:** 48

 **FOLLOWERS:** 15

 **FAVORITES:** 11

 **Q &A PORTION:**

 **Zombies instead of Titans?  
** **-** A lot of people probably already wrote about this but I decided instead of the big titans, I'll use zombies and that makes this fic AU but at the same time canon because of the plot. And it's kinda hard for me to write a fic with big titans xD

 **Has volume 2?**  
\- First fic to have a volume 2. Although there are others with a sequel, this is the first one to get my attention.

 **Has spin off?  
** \- I gotta be honest, this is the first fic with a spin-off. I must be so hooked up with typing this fic *laughs*.

 **MESSAGE:**  
Thank you for your time in reading, supporting, reviewing, favoriting and following this fic! I hope you enjoyed it until the end!

For the silent readers, followers and favoriters, thank you so much! Especially, thank you for all those who reviewed!

Also, thank you for the silent readers who read the story! I hope to hear from you sometimes! I'll see you guys on the next fic or in any of my other fic!

For the success of this fic, I've prepared an Omake for everyone. Enjoy!

 **So for those who know me already, you know that there's a CS or Credit Section when I finish a fic. And it could be about an epilogue, omake, extra chapter and just a joke xD but since this fic has so many branches now, I'll make this an announcement instead.**

 **Possible Humans VS Titans franchise  
** _Humans VS Titans volume 1- Complete!_  
\- Eren begins his journey as he discovered he's a titan shifter. Unraveling the secrets within the walls and about the titans. But as the volume ends, more mysteries were given than answers.

 _Humans VS Titans volume 2- Almost there!_  
\- The Survey gets a hold of Annie who offered her services to them in the first volume but will be sent on a trial first. This time, let's hope to see some answers!

 _Humans VS Titans volume 3- Tentative_  
\- I already wrote the drafts for volume 2 and it didn't end well with I think 30 chapters so there might be a volume 3 soon.

 _Humans VS Titans: Little Soldiers- Ongoing_  
\- A spin-off where we see Annie's side of the story. We all know there's a lot of mysteries surrounding her, so this fic will answer it for you.

 _Humans VS Titans: OVA- Tentative_  
\- There are also ova series planned out. Short arcs, omake and extras just for fun although sometimes can be related to the main fic series

So we good?

See you!


	37. AN

p style="text-align: center;"strongHumans VS Titans: Volume 1 /stronghas a spin-off called strongHumans VS Titans: Little Soldiers/strong and the thing is, it may be confusing to read the spin-off so I have two suggestions how you're going to understand it. First, you read Volume 1 first then the spin-off or you open both fics at the same time./p  
p style="text-align: center;"The strongLittle Soldiers/strong one is Annie's side of the story in Annie's perspective so some chapters there are more or less copy-paste from some scenes where Annie is concerned in Volume 1. Some scenes is the part where she disappears will finally be explained./p  
p style="text-align: center;"em*This is in case you decided to read strongLittle Soldiers/strong and not get it./em/p 


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